PDS Planning Inc Buys 464 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 4.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MFC. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after acquiring an additional 11,164 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 117,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,664,000 after acquiring an additional 4,277 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, BayBridge Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 153.3% during the 1st quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 51,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after acquiring an additional 30,894 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of MFC opened at $31.71 on Monday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $25.92 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.84. The stock has a market cap of $53.73 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.98.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 10.46%.The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.3199 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 price target on Manulife Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.00.

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.