International Assets Investment Management LLC Purchases New Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 83,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,846,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $406,195,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 694.2% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,984,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,482,367 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,082,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,706,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,402,832,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 103.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,377,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713,488 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MFC opened at $23.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $17.07 and a twelve month high of $25.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.99 and a 200-day moving average of $21.45.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.05. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The business had revenue of $10.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a $0.298 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.17%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MFC. Desjardins raised Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.33.

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.