Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Invests $16.72 Million in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA bought a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 536,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,724,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 179.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 18,222 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the period. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,544,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699,999 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:MFC opened at $33.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $56.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.83. Manulife Financial Corp has a twelve month low of $25.92 and a twelve month high of $38.72. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.34.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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 Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 63.96%.

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.