DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Grows Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,145,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,677 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.12% of Manulife Financial worth $56,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,289,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,806,508,000 after purchasing an additional 727,764 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 26.5% during 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 last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 14.8% during 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 last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 57.9% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $473,568,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC opened at $28.08 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.43. The company has a market capitalization of $49.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $17.07 and a 1-year high of $28.17.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $9.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.95 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.16%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.