1,200 Shares in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Bought by Anchor Investment Management LLC

Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFCFree Report) (TSE:MFC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in Manulife Financial by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 5,507,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,922,000 after purchasing an additional 446,233 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Manulife Financial by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 86,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 26,369 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,445,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $172,663,000 after acquiring an additional 119,192 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at about $248,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,680,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,240,000 after acquiring an additional 775,135 shares in the last quarter. 45.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MFC. Desjardins raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.33.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Manulife Financial stock opened at $24.38 on Thursday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $17.07 and a 1 year high of $24.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $22.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.61. The company has a market cap of $44.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFCGet Free Report) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $10.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 15.98%. Sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.71 EPS 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 $0.298 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Manulife Financial Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFCFree Report) (TSE:MFC).

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

Receive News & Ratings for Manulife Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Manulife Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.