Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Shares Purchased by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 573,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,496 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $17,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MFC. FIL Ltd increased its position in Manulife Financial by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 39,610,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,216,880,000 after purchasing an additional 7,053,066 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake 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 valued at $1,155,639,000 after buying an additional 2,289,205 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 24,614,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $755,367,000 after buying an additional 230,105 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,812,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $699,948,000 after buying an additional 902,466 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,427,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,895,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of MFC stock opened at $30.82 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $23.91 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $31.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.55. The stock has a market cap of $52.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.01.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.01). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 15.84%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.3194 per share. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 67.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 price target on Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, May 19th.

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.