Canerector Inc. Has $877.93 Million Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Canerector Inc. increased its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 4,445.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,184,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,564,000 shares during the period. Manulife Financial comprises 1.7% of Canerector Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Canerector Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $877,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,711,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,390,023,000 after purchasing an additional 374,615 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 5.8% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,638,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,172,922,000 after buying an additional 2,079,330 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Manulife Financial by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 25,155,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $803,975,000 after buying an additional 730,187 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $632,238,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,008,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $453,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276,251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $34.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.21. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $25.92 and a 1-year high of $38.72. The firm has a market cap of $57.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 63.51%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.