Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Purchased by Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 669,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,219 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $24,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 14,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.3% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 8,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 4,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 53,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Haven Private LLC lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 9,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $34.43 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $25.92 and a 52-week high of $38.72. The company has a market capitalization of $57.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.76 and a 200 day moving average of $34.68.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $11.32 billion for 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 period last year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 63.96%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.