Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Acquired by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,308 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 694.2% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,984,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,139,000 after acquiring an additional 3,482,367 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 45.7% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,932,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233,358 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,526,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,307,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086,776 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 5,005,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,508,000 after buying an additional 885,979 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,680,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,240,000 after buying an additional 775,135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:MFC traded up $0.43 on Monday, reaching $24.44. 4,406,564 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,224,294. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.93 and a 200-day moving average of $21.84. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $17.07 and a 52-week high of $25.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $10.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 15.98%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.298 per share. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Desjardins raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.33.

Manulife Financial 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.