Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.86%. Manulife Financial’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE:MFC traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.34. The stock had a trading volume of 1,102,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,203,364. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.42. Manulife Financial has a one year low of $29.70 and a one year high of $45.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% in the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,544,000 after purchasing an additional 5,699,999 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Manulife Financial by 1,975.2% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,045,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,312,000 after purchasing an additional 3,850,547 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Manulife Financial by 3,876.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,778,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,708,583 shares during the period. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 199.7% in the fourth quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 2,325,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 54.7% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,652,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,768,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290,663 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research lowered Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

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.