Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Purchased by Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 850 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 134.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,444,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $263,046,000 after buying an additional 4,840,963 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,155,639,000 after purchasing an additional 2,289,205 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 9,653,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $300,860,000 after purchasing an additional 2,226,152 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 871.5% during the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,023,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,057,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,642 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 24,425,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $760,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,626 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC opened at $32.15 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $25.92 and a 12 month high of $33.07. The stock has a market cap of $54.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.12.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.3199 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 56.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.00.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.