Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Bought by UBS Group AG

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in Manulife by 10% to 4,016,230 shares (about $145.7M), while MUFG Securities EMEA massively raised its holding to 6,399,999 shares, leaving institutional investors with roughly 52.56% of the stock.
• Manulife beat quarterly EPS expectations ($0.80 vs. $0.76) and currently carries an average analyst rating of "Buy" with an average price target of $51.50.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.485 from $0.44, an annualized $1.94 payout representing a roughly 4.9% yield.

UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,016,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 363,963 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.24% of Manulife Financial worth $145,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Manulife Financial by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 179.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $872,000 after purchasing an additional 18,222 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,757,000 after buying an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Manulife Financial by 13.1% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $204,544,000 after purchasing an additional 5,699,999 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Manulife Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment 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 company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC opened at $39.34 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.54. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $29.70 and a 1-year high of $39.35. The firm has a market cap of $65.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is presently 63.96%.

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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