Hilltop National Bank Purchases New Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 22,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $724,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Affinity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,934,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 16,609.6% in the 2nd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,519,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510,314 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,527,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,780,000 after acquiring an additional 370,570 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,501,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,970,000 after acquiring an additional 521,451 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE MFC opened at $31.40 on Friday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $25.92 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The company has a market capitalization of $53.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $30.85 and its 200-day moving average is $30.79.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.3199 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 56.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, August 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.50.

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.