Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Stock Bought by Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,963,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,850 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial accounts for approximately 3.3% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $254,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MFC. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth about $25,000. First Bancorp Inc ME acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Manulife Financial stock opened at $43.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $72.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 0.86. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $32.58 and a 52-week high of $46.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.30.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.06. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 16.75%. The company had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of C$0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 54.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $58.75.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company that provides insurance, wealth management and investment services to individuals and businesses. Its offerings include life and health insurance, group benefits, retirement solutions and investment products. Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife serves customers in Canada, the United States and Asia. In the United States, it operates primarily under the John Hancock name. The company also provides asset management services to institutional and retail clients through Manulife Investment Management, which offers investment strategies across a range of asset classes.