Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Purchased by TD Asset Management Inc.

TD Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,803,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 228,863 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial comprises about 0.9% of TD Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. TD Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,068,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 36,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 13,638 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the period. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $5,893,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 216.0% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,545,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MFC. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC stock opened at $31.34 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $30.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.05. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $22.61 and a 1 year high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.07. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The firm had revenue of $9.31 billion for the quarter. On average, analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.3094 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 58.45%.

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.