Sanctuary Advisors LLC Invests $784,000 in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 29,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $784,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.5% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 30,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 22.2% during the second quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 77.2% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 4.5% during the first quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 11,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 73.6% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MFC. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $35.67.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

MFC stock opened at $30.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.19. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $17.07 and a 52 week high of $30.52.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $9.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.95 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.16%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 66.86%.

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.