Colonial Trust Co SC Has $83,000 Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 273.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,696 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,974 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $83,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 60.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 741,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,919,000 after purchasing an additional 278,307 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 65.3% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 4,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1,067.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 686,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,080,000 after acquiring an additional 627,614 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three 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 currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.8 %

Manulife Financial stock opened at $30.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $52.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.46. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $23.30 and a 52 week high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.3194 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.35%.

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.