OLD National Bancorp IN Buys 799 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 8.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 799 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $654,751,000. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 39,610,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,216,880,000 after purchasing an additional 7,053,066 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377,338 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,427,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,895,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200,000 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 216.0% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,545,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739,853 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $45.67.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $32.04 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $23.30 and a 1-year high of $33.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.46 and a 200 day moving average of $30.53. The firm has a market cap of $54.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.01.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.01). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.3194 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.99%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 66.49%.

About Manulife Financial

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.