World Investment Advisors Increases Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

World Investment Advisors raised its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 23.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,872 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MFC. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 26,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 2,117 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377,338 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,148,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,920,000 after purchasing an additional 160,226 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 652,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,042,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 83.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 8,922 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MFC shares. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC opened at $27.41 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.24, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.10 and a 200-day moving average of $30.52. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $22.61 and a 1-year high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.07. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.31 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.3094 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Manulife Financial’s 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.