Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $38.76 Million Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies increased its Manulife Financial position by 189.8% in the first quarter, adding 737,100 shares for a total stake worth approximately $38.76 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 52.56% of MFC.
• Manulife shares opened at $44.02, near their 52-week high of $44.13, while the company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.77 slightly missed analyst expectations. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $3.03.
• The company maintains an annualized dividend of $1.94 per share, yielding 4.4%. Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $51.50, though ratings range from Strong Buy to Sell.

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 189.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,125,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 737,100 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Manulife Financial worth $38,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MFC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,317,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,843,882,000 after buying an additional 1,606,480 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 38,181,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,388,259,000 after acquiring an additional 542,834 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,550,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,041,431,000 after acquiring an additional 728,643 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $777,229,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,885,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $616,479,000 after acquiring an additional 2,145,099 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $44.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.44 and a 200-day moving average of $38.00. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $29.70 and a fifty-two week high of $44.13.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.The company had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MFC. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research cut Manulife Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Manulife Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.50.

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.

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