Blair William & Co. IL Acquires 3,171 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 25,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,171 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 32,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 98.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 203,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,500,000 after purchasing an additional 101,081 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 98,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 25,324 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 63,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 9,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 208,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,602,000 after buying an additional 44,796 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Dbs Bank raised Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.67.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE MFC opened at $29.14 on Thursday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $17.07 and a 52 week high of $29.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.69.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.16%. The firm had revenue of $9.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 67.44%.

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.