Quantbot Technologies LP Takes $4 Million Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 98,622 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,995,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,016,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $145,709,000 after acquiring an additional 363,963 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1,092.1% during the fourth quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 51,632 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 47,301 shares during the last quarter. Canerector Inc. raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 27.0% during the first quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 170,000 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 25.7% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 5,645,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $194,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 183.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 7,577,711 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MFC shares. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research lowered Manulife Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC opened at $42.54 on Monday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $29.77 and a 12 month high of $45.33. The stock has a market cap of $70.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $42.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.90.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is 51.49%.

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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