Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 29,918 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,918 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $3,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Manulife Financial by 34.3% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 19,723,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $525,042,000 after purchasing an additional 5,036,716 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 288.4% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,943,509 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $104,966,000 after acquiring an additional 2,928,316 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,806,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in Manulife Financial by 1,210.7% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,161,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072,474 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 3.2% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,057,503 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $640,411,000 after purchasing an additional 750,422 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MFC traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $32.13. The stock had a trading volume of 790,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,532,668. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $19.23 and a 52-week high of $33.07. The firm has a market cap of $56.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.08. The business's fifty day moving average price is $30.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.91.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.30. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.79%. The firm had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 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 Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.296 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays began coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Dbs Bank upgraded Manulife Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.50.

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.