Expressive Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 17,723 Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Expressive Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $718,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MFC. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,016,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $145,709,000 after acquiring an additional 363,963 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 1,092.1% during the fourth quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 51,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 47,301 shares during the period. Canerector Inc. boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 27.0% during the first quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 170,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 25.7% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 5,645,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 183.7% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,702,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,969,000 after purchasing an additional 7,577,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFC has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC opened at $42.54 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a one year low of $29.77 and a one year high of $45.33.

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

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.36%.

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.