73,700 Shares in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Purchased by Barometer Capital Management Inc.

Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 73,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,538,000. Manulife Financial accounts for approximately 1.0% of Barometer Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $777,229,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% in the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,544,000 after buying an additional 5,699,999 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 194.9% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 6,205,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,597,000 after acquiring an additional 4,101,390 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1,975.2% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,045,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,312,000 after acquiring an additional 3,850,547 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Manulife Financial by 931.1% in the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,124,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,778,000 after acquiring an additional 3,724,519 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC opened at $42.81 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $29.70 and a 1-year high of $43.56. The stock has a market cap of $71.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.99 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.81.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MFC. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Company 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.