Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $38.76 Million Stock Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 189.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,125,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 737,100 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $38,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sfam LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC opened at $44.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.44 and a 200-day moving average of $38.00. The company has a market capitalization of $73.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $29.70 and a fifty-two week high of $44.13.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

About Manulife Financial

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.