Acadian Asset Management LLC Buys 2,928,316 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 288.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,943,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,928,316 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $104,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,289,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,806,508,000 after purchasing an additional 727,764 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,066,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $823,074,000 after buying an additional 7,766,870 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 14.8% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,803,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $749,435,000 after buying an additional 3,720,693 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Manulife Financial by 57.9% during the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 23,307,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $582,444,000 after acquiring an additional 8,548,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $473,568,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $27.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $48.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.32. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $17.07 and a 12-month high of $27.82.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 9.18%. The company had revenue of $9.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 66.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on MFC shares. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Dbs Bank raised Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price objective on Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.67.

Manulife Financial 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.