NewEdge Wealth LLC Acquires New Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 21,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $887,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Canerector Inc. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 27.0% during the first quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares during the period. Sfam LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MFC shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $42.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $29.77 and a 1-year high of $45.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.90.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 53.36%.

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.