Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Acquired by Intact Investment Management Inc.

Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 55.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,351,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 839,820 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial makes up approximately 2.5% of Intact Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Intact Investment Management Inc. owned 0.14% of Manulife Financial worth $85,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MFC. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 269.2% during the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 960 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. American Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 208.8% during the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 144.4% during the third quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $39.14 on Monday. Manulife Financial Corp has a twelve month low of $29.70 and a twelve month high of $39.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.59. The stock has a market cap of $65.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 0.87.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.The company had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut Manulife Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Manulife Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.50.

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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