Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Purchased by Swiss National Bank

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its Manulife Financial stake by 25.7% in the first quarter, buying 1,154,200 shares and bringing its total holding to 5,645,600 shares worth about $194.2 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mostly positive: analysts cite a consensus “Buy” rating on MFC, with an average price target of $51.50, though Zacks Research recently downgraded the stock to “strong sell.”
• Manulife reported quarterly EPS of $0.77, missing estimates, but it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 4.5%.

Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 25.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,645,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,154,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.34% of Manulife Financial worth $194,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hoge Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC now owns 31,975 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 14,421 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC increased its position in Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 59,081 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. increased its position in Manulife Financial by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 27,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,037 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MFC shares. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. 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. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Manulife Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC opened at $43.38 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.73. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $29.70 and a 12 month high of $43.55.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.75%.

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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