Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Holdings Raised by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments increased its Manulife Financial stake by 8.2% in the first quarter, adding 52,020 shares to bring its total to 687,432 shares worth about $23.9 million.
• Manulife Financial shares were down 2.1% on the day, opening at $42.48, though the stock remains near its 12-month high of $43.56 and has a market cap of about $70.6 billion.
• The company reported Q1 EPS of $0.77, slightly below analyst expectations, but it continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share for a 4.6% yield; analysts currently have a consensus Buy rating with a $51.50 price target.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 687,432 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 52,020 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $23,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Sfam LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the first quarter worth about $29,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $42.48 on Tuesday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $29.70 and a 12 month high of $43.56. The company has a market cap of $70.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.77.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.The company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is 56.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MFC shares. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research cut shares of Manulife Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial 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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