Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 13.5% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,063,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $829,374,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329,892 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,273,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,473,000 after acquiring an additional 616,517 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,186,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $153,455,000 after acquiring an additional 158,216 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,035,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,202,000 after purchasing an additional 36,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 16.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,988,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,426,000 after purchasing an additional 279,418 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $30.14 on Friday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $21.95 and a 1-year high of $33.07. The firm has a market cap of $51.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.45.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.30. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The firm had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial 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.