Blair William & Co. IL Buys 377 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC)

Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 1.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MFC. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 178,700.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,787 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the first quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MFC. Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $30.11 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $51.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $31.20 and its 200-day moving average is $30.55. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $24.77 and a 52 week high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a $0.3199 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

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.