Huntington National Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 922 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 77.2% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MFC. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays assumed coverage on Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.6 %

MFC opened at $32.66 on Friday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $18.80 and a 12 month high of $33.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.91 and a 200 day moving average of $27.37. The firm has a market cap of $57.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.79%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.296 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.04%.

Manulife Financial 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.