Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Increases Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp by 5.8% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 28,204 shares, bringing their total ownership to 516,568 shares, valued at approximately $16.1 million.
• Manulife Financial recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.3199 per share, resulting in a 4.2% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 57.14%.
• Despite a drop in earnings, analysts have set varied price targets for Manulife Financial, with Royal Bank of Canada lowering theirs from $51.00 to $49.00, maintaining an "outperform" rating.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 516,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 28,204 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $16,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,333,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,316,162,000 after buying an additional 369,638 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 6.6% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,155,639,000 after buying an additional 2,289,205 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 24,614,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $755,367,000 after buying an additional 230,105 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,812,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $699,948,000 after buying an additional 902,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 7.2% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 13,990,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $436,007,000 after buying an additional 937,794 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MFC traded up $0.7150 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $30.7750. 771,095 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,335,862. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $25.92 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.55. The firm has a market cap of $52.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.01.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a $0.3199 dividend. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MFC shares. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.50.

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.