Kathmere Capital Management LLC Buys 1,282 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 11.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,282 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MFC. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 750.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,910,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,990,000 after purchasing an additional 8,745,071 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 57.9% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 23,307,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $582,444,000 after purchasing an additional 8,548,114 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 103.1% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,686,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $367,025,000 after purchasing an additional 7,456,712 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 20,710,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $459,108,000 after purchasing an additional 6,663,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.8% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,803,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $749,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,720,693 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $29.53 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.79. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $17.07 and a 1 year high of $29.88. The company has a market capitalization of $52.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. TD Securities increased their price target on Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.67.

About Manulife Financial

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.