Nykredit A S Invests $12.75 Million in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 314,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,752,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new position in Manulife Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sfam LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $44.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.04 and a 200 day moving average of $39.29. The company has a market cap of $73.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 0.83. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $30.49 and a 12-month high of $45.33.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 51.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MFC. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.00.

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.