Citigroup Inc. Buys 382,807 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,156,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 382,807 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.07% of Manulife Financial worth $36,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MFC. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 68.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 17,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 6,952 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.3% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 8,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 49.6% in the third quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 15,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,131 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 20,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 8,463 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 419,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,057,000 after buying an additional 3,516 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, November 14th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC stock opened at $35.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $36.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.04. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $38.72. The firm has a market cap of $59.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. The business had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.31%.

About Manulife Financial

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.