Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Shares Purchased by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 17.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 733,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 111,500 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $22,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MFC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $654,751,000. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 39,610,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,216,880,000 after purchasing an additional 7,053,066 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $333,291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377,338 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,427,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $227,895,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 216.0% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,545,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739,853 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC opened at $30.85 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $23.30 and a 12 month high of $33.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.51.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.3194 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is 67.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 target price on Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, May 19th.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.

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