CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Raises Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,274,389 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 75,735 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.19% of Manulife Financial worth $100,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 39,610,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,216,880,000 after buying an additional 7,053,066 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,803,859 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,068,654,000 after purchasing an additional 228,863 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $654,751,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,334,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $347,757,000 after purchasing an additional 190,738 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $333,291,000 after buying an additional 2,377,338 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented 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 boosted their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 3.2 %

NYSE:MFC traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.30. The company had a trading volume of 299,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,234,992. The company has a market capitalization of $50.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.89. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $33.07. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $29.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.42.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $9.31 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.3094 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.