West Family Investments Inc. Acquires 1,340 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

West Family Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MFC. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 57.9% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 23,307,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $582,444,000 after purchasing an additional 8,548,114 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 103.1% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,686,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $367,025,000 after buying an additional 7,456,712 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Manulife Financial by 288.4% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,943,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,966,000 after acquiring an additional 2,928,316 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,806,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1,210.7% during the 2nd 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. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $31.61 on Tuesday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $18.91 and a 52-week high of $33.07. The company has a market capitalization of $55.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $30.01 and a 200-day moving average of $27.49.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.30. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The firm had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.296 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.