Lido Advisors LLC Has $1.16 Million Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 199.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,732 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,123 shares during the quarter. Lido Advisors LLC's holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,988,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,426,000 after purchasing an additional 279,418 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $330,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its position in Manulife Financial by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 88,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 11,509 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 36,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 13,638 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MFC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Manulife Financial stock traded down $0.24 on Thursday, hitting $31.13. 749,777 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,188,596. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $23.30 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.45. The company has a market cap of $53.32 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.00.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.3094 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.35%.

About Manulife Financial

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.