Vident Advisory LLC Grows Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 15.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,863 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $3,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,289,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,806,508,000 after purchasing an additional 727,764 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,066,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $823,074,000 after purchasing an additional 7,766,870 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.8% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,803,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $749,435,000 after buying an additional 3,720,693 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $473,568,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 20,710,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $459,108,000 after buying an additional 6,663,997 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE MFC traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 380,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,848,576. The company has a market cap of $46.47 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.43. Manulife Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $17.07 and a fifty-two week high of $27.51.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $9.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.85 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 9.28%. Analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. National Bank Financial raised Manulife Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. TD Securities raised their price objective on Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.00.

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.