Man Group plc Makes New $125.78 Million Investment in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• Man Group plc acquired 3.1 million Manulife Financial shares worth approximately $125.8 million during the second quarter, giving it a 0.19% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 52.56% of MFC.
• Manulife reported quarterly EPS of $0.79, slightly above analysts’ $0.78 estimate, while revenue increased 7.3% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, representing a 4.5% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $59; Royal Bank of Canada raised its target to $67. MFC shares opened at $43.18, near their 12-month high of $45.33.

Man Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,102,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $125,781,000. Man Group plc owned 0.19% of Manulife Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 8,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,432 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 59,081 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 1.1% during the first quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 27,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $954,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 5.4% in the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of MFC opened at $43.18 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Corp has a twelve month low of $29.77 and a twelve month high of $45.33. The company has a market capitalization of $71.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.57 and a 200 day moving average of $38.98.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%.The company's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MFC shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Manulife Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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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