15,419 Shares in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Acquired by Sunpointe LLC

Key Points

• Sunpointe LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp, purchasing 15,419 shares valued at approximately $493,000 during the 2nd quarter.
• Manulife Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.3199 per share, representing a 4.1% yield and a payout ratio of 56.70%.
• Wall Street analysts have an average rating of "Buy" for Manulife Financial, with a consensus target price of $48.50.

Sunpointe LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $493,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 178,700.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of MFC traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $31.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,232,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,788,584. The company has a market cap of $53.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.99. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $30.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.65. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07.

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). The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 10.46%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.70%.

About Manulife Financial

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.