Value Partners Investments Inc. Purchases 1,510,314 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• Value Partners Investments Inc. significantly increased its investment in Manulife Financial Corp by acquiring an additional 1,510,314 shares, raising its stake by 16,609.6% during the 2nd quarter.
• Manulife Financial recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3199 per share, marking a positive change from the previous dividend, with a dividend yield of 4.0%.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $48.50 for Manulife Financial, with two analysts rating the stock as a Buy.

Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 16,609.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,519,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,510,314 shares during the period. Manulife Financial accounts for about 3.8% of Value Partners Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Value Partners Investments Inc. owned 0.09% of Manulife Financial worth $48,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,333,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,316,162,000 after buying an additional 369,638 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,155,639,000 after purchasing an additional 2,289,205 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 24,614,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $755,367,000 after purchasing an additional 230,105 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 24,425,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $760,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,812,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $699,948,000 after purchasing an additional 902,466 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on MFC shares. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 target price on Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE MFC opened at $31.89 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $30.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.99. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $25.92 and a 1-year high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.3199 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.

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