Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Grows Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 30.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,653,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,226,152 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $300,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,333,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,316,162,000 after buying an additional 369,638 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,155,639,000 after acquiring an additional 2,289,205 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 24,614,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $755,367,000 after purchasing an additional 230,105 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 7.3% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 24,425,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $760,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,812,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $699,948,000 after purchasing an additional 902,466 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of MFC opened at $30.69 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.57. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $25.92 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The firm has a market cap of $52.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.01.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.3199 per share. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 56.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MFC. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.50.

Manulife Financial 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.