United Services Automobile Association Buys 471 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

United Services Automobile Association increased its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 134.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,444,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,046,000 after buying an additional 4,840,963 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 6.6% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,155,639,000 after purchasing an additional 2,289,205 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 30.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 9,653,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $300,860,000 after purchasing an additional 2,226,152 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 871.5% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,023,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,057,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.3% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 24,425,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $760,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,626 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:MFC opened at $30.66 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $30.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.61. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $25.92 and a 52 week high of $33.07. The stock has a market cap of $52.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.99.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 10.46%.The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a $0.3199 dividend. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 56.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $48.50.

About Manulife Financial

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.