Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 16,808,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,020,490 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $623,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MFC. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 269.2% during the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. American Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 208.8% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 144.4% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of MFC opened at $38.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $63.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.87. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $29.70 and a 12-month high of $40.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.42.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 56.35%.

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.