Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Purchased by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,634 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 47.8% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 172,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,380,000 after purchasing an additional 55,881 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 2,357 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Manulife Financial by 91.7% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 8,925 shares during the period. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in Manulife Financial by 434.2% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 3,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,822 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $34.42 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $35.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.42. The firm has a market cap of $58.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.98.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.10. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 10.46%.The company had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Manulife Financial 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.