BayBridge Capital Group LLC Has $1.67 Million Stock Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

BayBridge Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,148 shares during the period. Manulife Financial makes up 1.1% of BayBridge Capital Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. BayBridge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 134.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,444,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $263,046,000 after buying an additional 4,840,963 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Manulife Financial by 6.6% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,155,639,000 after acquiring an additional 2,289,205 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 30.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 9,653,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $300,860,000 after acquiring an additional 2,226,152 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 871.5% in the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,023,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,057,000 after buying an additional 1,815,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.3% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 24,425,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $760,853,000 after buying an additional 1,660,626 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $30.77 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $25.92 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.75. The company has a market cap of $52.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.99.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.3199 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 56.70%.

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.