Bridgewater Associates LP Buys 549,513 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 39.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,953,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 549,513 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned about 0.11% of Manulife Financial worth $59,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 86.1% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 126,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,879,000 after acquiring an additional 58,501 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 8,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 1,624 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 779,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,950,000 after acquiring an additional 38,092 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 122,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth $392,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.0 %

MFC stock traded up $0.01 on Friday, hitting $28.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,914,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,244,642. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $22.81 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The stock has a market cap of $49.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $29.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.43.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.07. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. The company had revenue of $9.31 billion during the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.3094 dividend. This is an increase from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.45%.

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.