NewEdge Wealth LLC Invests $209,000 in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 9,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 2.6% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 21,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 10,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 32,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $589,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brinker Capital Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC now owns 12,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MFC shares. Desjardins raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. TheStreet raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.33.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $22.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $23.98 and its 200 day moving average is $21.39. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $17.07 and a 1 year high of $25.14.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $10.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 15.98%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.298 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.20%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 61.66%.

About Manulife Financial

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.