Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 1,067.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 686,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 627,614 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $21,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MFC. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 30,456 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 23.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 69,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,858,000 after buying an additional 13,069 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Manulife Financial by 14.3% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 25,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 3,171 shares during the period. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 51.9% in the second quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,561 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 9,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 37.6% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 93,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,499,000 after acquiring an additional 25,661 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE MFC traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $30.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,430,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,355,940. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.09. The company's 50-day moving average is $31.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.09. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $20.78 and a 1-year high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.30. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The business had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.296 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is 59.42%.

Manulife Financial Profile

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.