Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Acquired by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 96.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 712,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 349,839 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $25,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blueline Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 84,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,066,000 after purchasing an additional 6,324 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $909,000 after purchasing an additional 9,473 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $38.22 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $37.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.42. The company has a market capitalization of $63.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.87. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $29.70 and a 1-year high of $40.40.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.