1,394,469 Shares in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Bought by Nuveen LLC

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 1,394,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $43,445,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 6.6% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,155,639,000 after acquiring an additional 2,289,205 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 871.5% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,023,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,057,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,642 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1,113.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,086,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,878,000 after acquiring an additional 996,656 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 7.2% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 13,990,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,007,000 after acquiring an additional 937,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,812,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $699,948,000 after acquiring an additional 902,466 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 target price on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, May 19th.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $30.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $51.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.02 and its 200-day moving average is $30.55. Manulife Financial Corp has a one year low of $25.72 and a one year high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.3199 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

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.