Vanguard Group Inc. Has $2.84 Billion Stock Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Key Points

• Vanguard increased its stake in Manulife by 2.1% in Q4 to 78,317,970 shares, representing about $2.84 billion or 4.67% ownership of the company.
• Manulife raised its quarterly dividend to $0.485 (from $0.44), representing a $1.94 annualized payout and a ~5.0% yield with a dividend payout ratio of 63.96%.
• Manulife beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.80 vs. $0.76) and shows strong profitability (ROE 16.43%), while analysts maintain an average "Buy" rating with a $51.50 average price target.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,317,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,606,480 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 4.67% of Manulife Financial worth $2,843,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.5% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,861,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $215,779,000 after purchasing an additional 166,076 shares during the period. OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the third quarter valued at about $8,021,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.7% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 11,541,321 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $359,662,000 after purchasing an additional 621,093 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 233.6% during the third quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 556,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,804,000 after purchasing an additional 389,500 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 44.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 642,498 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,207,000 after purchasing an additional 198,208 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $38.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $64.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37 and a beta of 0.82. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $29.70 and a 52 week high of $39.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.49.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MFC shares. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $51.50.

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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