Summit Global Investments Makes New Investment in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 66,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,065,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,336,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,440,795,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003,226 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.0% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 25,155,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $803,975,000 after purchasing an additional 730,187 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth about $632,238,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,008,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $453,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,015,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $384,409,000 after purchasing an additional 567,834 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $38.56 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $25.92 and a 52-week high of $38.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $36.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.20.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 16.11%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 26th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Cibc Captl Mkts raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. CIBC upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial presently has an average rating of “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.