Finward Bancorp Makes New $337,000 Investment in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Finward Bancorp acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $28.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,914,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,245,039. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $22.88 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The company has a market cap of $49.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $29.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.42.

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

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. 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.