D Orazio & Associates Inc. Has $294,000 Stock Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 10.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 954 shares during the quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.0% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 14.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 3.2% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,057,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $640,411,000 after buying an additional 750,422 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 34.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 19,723,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $525,042,000 after buying an additional 5,036,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,783,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,592,000 after acquiring an additional 75,244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Manulife Financial stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.66. 232,700 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,518,748. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.59 and its 200 day moving average is $27.24. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $18.78 and a 52 week high of $32.94. The company has a market capitalization of $57.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.30. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.79%. The business had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.296 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 56.04%.

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.