Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Grows Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 669,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,219 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $24,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clarius Group LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 269.2% during the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $407,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 12,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 14,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $34.43 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.68. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $25.92 and a 12 month high of $38.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. The firm had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.96%.

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.