Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,343,892 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 534,331 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.37% of Manulife Financial worth $194,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FIL Ltd grew its position in Manulife Financial by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 39,610,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,216,880,000 after acquiring an additional 7,053,066 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 0.7% during the 4th 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 purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth $654,751,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 190,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $333,291,000 after acquiring an additional 2,377,338 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MFC. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $29.21 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $29.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.41. Manulife Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.96 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07. The firm has a market cap of $50.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.89.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.07. The business 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, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.3094 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Manulife Financial's payout ratio 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.

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