First Horizon Advisors Inc. Acquires 641 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,526,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,307,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086,776 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 11,138,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,468,000 after acquiring an additional 446,444 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 7.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,680,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,240,000 after purchasing an additional 775,135 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 1.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,445,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $172,663,000 after purchasing an additional 119,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 5,793,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,019,000 after purchasing an additional 582,468 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC opened at $24.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $23.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.89. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $17.07 and a 1 year high of $25.14.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $10.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.42%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a $0.298 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.88%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Desjardins upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised Manulife Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.33.

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.