Legal & General Group Plc Boosts Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• Legal & General increased its stake in Manulife by 5.7% in Q3 to 11,541,321 shares—about a 0.68% ownership stake valued at roughly $359.7 million per the SEC filing.
• Manulife raised its quarterly dividend to $0.485 (annualized $1.94), representing a 5.7% yield and an increase from the prior $0.44 payout.
• Manulife beat Q results with $0.80 EPS vs. $0.76 expected, and the stock carries a consensus Buy rating with a $51.50 price target from analysts.

Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,541,321 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 621,093 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.68% of Manulife Financial worth $359,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. American Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $33.76 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.33. The firm has a market cap of $56.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 0.83. Manulife Financial Corp has a twelve month low of $25.92 and a twelve month high of $38.72.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is currently 63.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on MFC shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Manulife Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Manulife Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.50.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.

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