Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Buys 20,434 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 73.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,434 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MFC. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 478.5% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $24.02 on Friday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $17.07 and a 1 year high of $25.14. The company has a market capitalization of $43.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.76.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.05. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $10.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.298 per share. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.96%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.66%.

About Manulife Financial

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.