Brooklyn Investment Group Takes Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1,210.7% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,161,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072,474 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,783,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,592,000 after acquiring an additional 75,244 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Manulife Financial by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,057,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $640,411,000 after acquiring an additional 750,422 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the second quarter valued at $794,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the third quarter worth $956,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MFC shares. Dbs Bank upgraded Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays began coverage on Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

MFC stock opened at $32.13 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.92. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $19.23 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The firm has a market cap of $56.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.79%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. Research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.296 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 57.00%.

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.