Sanctuary Advisors LLC Buys 43,877 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 148.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,877 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $2,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 69,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 77.2% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 6,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 41,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barclays assumed coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC stock opened at $30.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.23 and a 200 day moving average of $28.39. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $20.78 and a 1 year high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.79%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.296 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.00%.

Manulife Financial Company 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.