AGF Management Ltd. Has $45.64 Million Stock Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

AGF Management Ltd. lowered its holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,486,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 26,361 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Manulife Financial worth $45,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,063,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $829,374,000 after acquiring an additional 3,329,892 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 169.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 1,404,481 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,554,000 after purchasing an additional 883,624 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 1,067.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 686,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,080,000 after purchasing an additional 627,614 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,273,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $247,473,000 after purchasing an additional 616,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $17,412,000. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.50.

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Manulife Financial Stock Down 2.6 %

MFC opened at $28.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $30.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.16. Manulife Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $9.31 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.98%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.3094 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is presently 58.45%.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.

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