12,238,033 Shares in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Acquired by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,238,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $495,841,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Canerector Inc. boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 27.0% in the first quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sfam LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $43.18 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $29.77 and a 1-year high of $45.33. The company has a market capitalization of $71.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.57 and a 200-day moving average of $38.98.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%.The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. Research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.00.

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.