OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Acquires Shares of 3,023,035 Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,023,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $122,562,000. Manulife Financial comprises about 0.7% of OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp owned about 0.18% of Manulife Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Sfam LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC stock opened at $42.54 on Monday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $29.77 and a 1-year high of $45.33. The firm has a market cap of $70.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.90.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 51.49%.

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.