3,023,035 Shares in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Purchased by OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 3,023,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $122,562,000. Manulife Financial comprises 0.7% of OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

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

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Manulife Financial stock opened at $42.54 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.90. The stock has a market cap of $70.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $29.77 and a 12-month high of $45.33.

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

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MFC shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.