Bank of New York Mellon Corp Buys 75,419 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,756,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 75,419 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.11% of Manulife Financial worth $60,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hoge Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC now owns 31,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 14,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 59,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 27,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $987,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $43.10 on Thursday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $29.70 and a 52 week high of $43.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.10 and its 200 day moving average is $37.86.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

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.