HighTower Advisors LLC Has $1.85 Million Stock Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC – Get Rating) (TSE:MFC) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 103,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,951 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $83,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Manulife Financial by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares during the period. 43.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MFC shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on Manulife Financial from C$27.00 to C$34.00 in a research report on Monday, January 30th. National Bank Financial raised their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$26.00 to C$27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. Desjardins upped their target price on Manulife Financial from C$26.00 to C$28.00 in a report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$26.00 to C$28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 17th.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFC stock opened at $18.40 on Thursday. Manulife Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $14.92 and a fifty-two week high of $20.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.69. The company has a market cap of $33.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.44, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.11.

Manulife Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 24th will be paid a $0.269 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.85%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.08%.

Manulife Financial Profile

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Manulife Financial Corp. engages in the provision of financial services. It operates through the following segments: Asia, Canada, U.S., Global Wealth and Asset Management, and Corporate and Other. The Asia segment refers to insurance and insurance-based wealth accumulation products in Asia. The Canada segment offers insurance-based wealth accumulation products and banking services in Canada.