Independent Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Independent Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $448,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Sfam LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE MFC opened at $43.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.91. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $29.70 and a fifty-two week high of $43.56.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial 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.