Mufg Securities Canada LTD. Raises Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 69.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,675,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,096,933 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial accounts for about 3.0% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. owned approximately 0.16% of Manulife Financial worth $82,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Summitry LLC increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 16,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth $62,000. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 8,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,803,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,068,654,000 after buying an additional 228,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 36,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 13,638 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.2 %

Manulife Financial stock opened at $31.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $54.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.05. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $22.61 and a 12 month high of $33.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.37.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.07. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The company had revenue of $9.31 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.3094 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.45%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.