Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Stock Position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 3.9%, acquiring an additional 54,743 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately $45.58 million.
• Manulife Financial recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.3194 per share, representing a yield of 4.08% based on the current annualized dividend.
• Morgan Stanley set a price target of $46.00 for Manulife Financial, indicating positive analyst sentiment regarding the company's growth potential.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,462,870 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 54,743 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.09% of Manulife Financial worth $45,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MFC. FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 39,610,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,216,880,000 after acquiring an additional 7,053,066 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,155,639,000 after purchasing an additional 2,289,205 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 24,614,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $755,367,000 after purchasing an additional 230,105 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 4.1% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $333,291,000 after buying an additional 2,377,338 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 target price on Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, May 19th.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Manulife Financial stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $31.46. The company had a trading volume of 2,250,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,721,704. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $23.30 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The company has a market capitalization of $53.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $31.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.53.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were paid a $0.3194 dividend. This is an increase from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.02%.

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.