1832 Asset Management L.P. Acquires 5,036,716 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 34.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,723,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,036,716 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial makes up approximately 0.4% of 1832 Asset Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. 1832 Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $525,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MFC. FIL Ltd raised its position 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 during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position 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 during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,066,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $823,074,000 after purchasing an additional 7,766,870 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position 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 during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its position 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $28.77 on Friday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $17.07 and a 1 year high of $28.97. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.61. The company has a market cap of $51.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.08.

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. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid 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 yield of 4.03%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.