Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 374,615 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 0.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 76,711,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 374,615 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $2,390,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,861,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,779,000 after purchasing an additional 166,076 shares during the last quarter. OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the third quarter worth about $8,021,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 642,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,207,000 after acquiring an additional 198,208 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,364,000. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,065,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC opened at $36.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $36.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.88. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1 year low of $25.92 and a 1 year high of $38.72.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 56.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, November 14th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

About Manulife Financial

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.