Ieq Capital LLC Takes $893,000 Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 22,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $893,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Canerector Inc. grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares during the period. Finally, Sfam LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.2%

MFC stock opened at $43.12 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $30.20 and a 52 week high of $45.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Manulife Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial 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.