Maverick Capital Ltd. Takes Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 23,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $823,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Canerector Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 27.0% during the first quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 170,000 shares in the last quarter. Sfam LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the first quarter valued at $29,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE MFC opened at $44.63 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $29.70 and a 52 week high of $44.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.06.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

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.