Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Stock Holdings Increased by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 5.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 211,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,808 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $7,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Sfam LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:MFC opened at $44.44 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.20. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $29.70 and a 52-week high of $44.89. The firm has a market cap of $73.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The business had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.75%.

Manulife Financial Profile

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.