TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Increases Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,757,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 81,973 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial accounts for about 1.8% of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. owned about 1.01% of Manulife Financial worth $683,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $777,229,000. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth about $594,832,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $495,841,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $430,039,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 183.7% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,702,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $402,969,000 after acquiring an additional 7,577,711 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Manulife Financial stock opened at $44.56 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $30.49 and a fifty-two week high of $45.33. The stock has a market cap of $73.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.26.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.