The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $92.76 Million in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired 2.29 million Manulife Financial shares worth approximately $92.76 million, representing about 0.14% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 52.56% of Manulife’s stock.
• Manulife reported quarterly earnings of $0.79 per share, slightly beating analyst estimates, while revenue rose 7.3% year over year. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, equivalent to a 4.5% annual yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock carrying an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $59, versus its reported market price of $43.18.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,291,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $92,762,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.14% of Manulife Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,016,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $145,709,000 after purchasing an additional 363,963 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 1,092.1% during the 4th quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 51,632 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 47,301 shares during the period. Canerector Inc. boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 170,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 5,645,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $194,191,000 after buying an additional 1,154,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Manulife Financial by 183.7% in the 1st 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 period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $43.18 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.57 and a 200-day moving average of $38.98. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $29.77 and a 52 week high of $45.33. The company has a market capitalization of $71.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Manulife Financial

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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