Signaturefd LLC Boosts Stock Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 1.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 51,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,289,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,806,508,000 after purchasing an additional 727,764 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.8% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,803,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $749,435,000 after buying an additional 3,720,693 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 3.2% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,057,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $640,411,000 after purchasing an additional 750,422 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 34.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 19,723,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $525,042,000 after purchasing an additional 5,036,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,783,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,592,000 after purchasing an additional 75,244 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Manulife Financial stock opened at $30.09 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $17.07 and a 12 month high of $30.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.49.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.27. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 9.18%. The firm had revenue of $9.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MFC. TD Securities boosted their price target on Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Barclays initiated coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $35.67.

About Manulife Financial

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.