Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 6,410 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Manulife Financial by 57.9% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 103.1% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 7,456,712 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.8% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 3,720,693 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $75,231,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 288.4% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,943,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,966,000 after buying an additional 2,928,316 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Dbs Bank raised Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.67.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $29.47 on Friday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $18.00 and a 12 month high of $30.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.78. The stock has a market cap of $51.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 66.47%.

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.