Midwest Professional Planners LTD. Buys New Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Midwest Professional Planners LTD. bought a new stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Manulife Financial by 16.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,988,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,426,000 after buying an additional 279,418 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Manulife Financial by 148.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 73,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,382,000 after buying an additional 43,877 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $330,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 88,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 11,509 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,809,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,578,000 after purchasing an additional 81,799 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

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Manulife Financial Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MFC stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $30.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,176,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,965,168. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $30.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.25. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $22.61 and a 12 month high of $33.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.05.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 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 company had revenue of $9.31 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.3094 dividend. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.