Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,861,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,227 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.11% of Manulife Financial worth $75,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. First Bancorp Inc ME purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Sfam LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:MFC opened at $42.82 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $30.20 and a 12 month high of $45.33. The company has a market cap of $71.16 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Manulife Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MFC shares. Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Company 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.