OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Takes $90.90 Million Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 2,500,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $90,899,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Sfam LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Blueline Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MFC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $40.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $68.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $29.70 and a 52-week high of $40.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.81.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion for 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.75%.

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.