Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Bought by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 51,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MFC. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,063,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $829,374,000 after acquiring an additional 3,329,892 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 169.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 1,404,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,554,000 after acquiring an additional 883,624 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1,067.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 686,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,080,000 after acquiring an additional 627,614 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,273,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,473,000 after acquiring an additional 616,517 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $17,412,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MFC. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Manulife Financial stock opened at $29.27 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.17. The company has a market capitalization of $50.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.05. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $22.61 and a 12-month high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $9.31 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.98%. Analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.3094 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 58.45%.

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.