State of Wyoming Raises Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFCFree Report) (TSE:MFC) by 287.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,900 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MFC. Canerector Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 4,445.8% during the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 28,184,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $877,932,000 after purchasing an additional 27,564,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth $777,229,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,544,000 after purchasing an additional 5,699,999 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,822,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $866,649,000 after purchasing an additional 5,671,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 13,155.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 4,229,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,743,000 after purchasing an additional 4,197,592 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC stock opened at $38.18 on Thursday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $29.70 and a 1-year high of $40.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $37.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.52. The company has a market cap of $63.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFCGet Free Report) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.The business had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 56.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MFC. Royal Bank Of Canada restated 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 research note on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

Get Our Latest Report on Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC)

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