Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Buys 960 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 960 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $243,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its position in Manulife Financial by 16,609.6% in the 2nd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,519,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510,314 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Manulife Financial by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,527,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,780,000 after purchasing an additional 370,570 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Manulife Financial by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,501,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,970,000 after purchasing an additional 521,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $431,000. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.5%

MFC stock opened at $32.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $54.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.98. Manulife Financial Corp has a twelve month low of $25.92 and a twelve month high of $33.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.89 and a 200-day moving average of $30.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its 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). The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 10.46%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.3199 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MFC shares. Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $48.00.

Manulife Financial Company 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.