Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Stock Holdings Increased by Triasima Portfolio Management inc.

Triasima Portfolio Management inc. grew its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 101.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 373,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 188,218 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial makes up 2.0% of Triasima Portfolio Management inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Triasima Portfolio Management inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $15,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 2,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 7,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 9,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the period. Finally, GK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE MFC opened at $43.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $72.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.07. Manulife Financial Corp has a twelve month low of $31.54 and a twelve month high of $45.33.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a C$0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MFC shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $58.75.

Manulife Financial Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company that provides insurance, wealth and asset management, retirement solutions and employee benefits. Its offerings include life and health insurance, annuities, group benefits, mutual funds, pension products and investment management services for individuals, businesses and institutional clients.

Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife has grown into an international organization serving customers primarily in Canada, the United States and Asia.