Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Makes New $5.63 Million Investment in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio initiated a $5.63 million position in Manulife Financial during the second quarter, purchasing 138,779 shares. Institutional investors collectively own 52.56% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $59.00; Royal Bank of Canada recently raised its target to $67.00.
• Manulife reported quarterly EPS of $0.79, slightly exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 7.3% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, representing an annualized yield of approximately 4.5%.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 138,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,626,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $777,229,000. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $594,832,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $495,841,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $430,039,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 183.7% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,702,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $402,969,000 after buying an additional 7,577,711 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $43.29 on Thursday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $30.43 and a 1-year high of $45.33. The company has a market capitalization of $71.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 0.83. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $42.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.20.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.49%.

Manulife Financial 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source