1,394,469 Shares in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Acquired by Nuveen LLC

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp, purchasing 1,394,469 shares valued at approximately $43.4 million, representing about 0.08% ownership of the company.
• Manulife Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3199 per share, which results in an annualized yield of 4.2%, marking a slight increase from its previous dividend.
• Recent earnings reports revealed that Manulife Financial reported $0.69 EPS for the last quarter, missing analyst estimates of $0.71, with total revenue of $11.3 billion.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,394,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $43,445,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.08% of Manulife Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,333,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,316,162,000 after acquiring an additional 369,638 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 6.6% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,155,639,000 after acquiring an additional 2,289,205 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 24,614,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $755,367,000 after acquiring an additional 230,105 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,812,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $699,948,000 after acquiring an additional 902,466 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 937,794 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE MFC traded down $0.0150 during trading on Thursday, hitting $30.0650. 1,902,870 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,541,228. The company has a market cap of $51.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.01. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $30.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.55.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 10.46%.The business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a $0.3199 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MFC. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.