Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Acquires New Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 12,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 39,610,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,216,880,000 after buying an additional 7,053,066 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,803,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,068,654,000 after acquiring an additional 228,863 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $654,751,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,334,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,757,000 after acquiring an additional 190,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377,338 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Manulife Financial stock opened at $29.76 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.70 and a 200-day moving average of $30.41. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $22.96 and a 1 year high of $33.07. The company has a market capitalization of $51.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.89.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $9.31 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.98%. Equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.3094 dividend. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on MFC shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $45.50.

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.