Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Stock Position Increased by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 96.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 712,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 349,839 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $25,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Blueline Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 269.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 208.8% in the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of MFC stock opened at $38.22 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $29.70 and a 1-year high of $40.40. The company has a market capitalization of $63.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.42.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The business had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on MFC shares. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

About Manulife Financial

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.