Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 60.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,638 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MFC. FMR LLC boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 1.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 396,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,704,000 after purchasing an additional 4,586 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 16.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 50,381 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,489,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 33,765 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $998,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 150,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,457,000 after buying an additional 9,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 148,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,394,000 after acquiring an additional 859 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have issued reports on MFC. 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. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.50.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Manulife Financial
Manulife Financial Price Performance
MFC stock traded up $0.74 on Friday, reaching $28.04. 4,106,230 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,244,396. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $22.61 and a 12 month high of $33.07. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $29.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.89.
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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.3094 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.45%.
Manulife Financial Profile
(
Free Report)
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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