Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec Buys Shares of 4,466,755 Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,466,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $181,094,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $444,000. Man Group plc bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $125,781,000. Invst LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,458,000. Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $441,000. Finally, First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $43.23 on Thursday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $29.94 and a 12 month high of $45.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.62 and a 200-day moving average of $39.02. The company has a market capitalization of $71.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 51.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MFC. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.