The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its Manulife Financial stake by 5% in the first quarter, acquiring 98,357 shares and bringing its holdings to 2.07 million shares valued at approximately $71.1 million.
• Manulife reported quarterly EPS of $0.77, below the $0.79 analyst consensus, while revenue reached $8.89 billion. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, representing a 4.4% annualized yield.
• Shares opened at $43.93, near their 52-week high of $44.68. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $51.50, though ratings range from “Strong Sell” to “Strong Buy.”

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,065,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 98,357 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.12% of Manulife Financial worth $71,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 179.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 18,222 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 18.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,757,000 after buying an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.1% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $204,544,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699,999 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of MFC opened at $43.93 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $40.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.11. The company has a market cap of $73.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a twelve month low of $29.70 and a twelve month high of $44.68.

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

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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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