Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Invests $1.41 Million in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 34,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,410,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 18,222 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Manulife Financial by 18.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Manulife Financial by 13.1% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its position in Manulife Financial by 814.3% in the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,544,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.2%

MFC stock opened at $43.12 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $42.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.06. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $30.20 and a 52-week high of $45.33. The company has a market capitalization of $71.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 51.49%.

Manulife Financial Company 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.