Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 213,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,629 shares during the quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $6,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth $27,000. Eastern Bank boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 156.1% during the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFC has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. CIBC raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $36.97 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.03. Manulife Financial Corp has a one year low of $25.92 and a one year high of $37.71. The company has a market cap of $62.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.10. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

Manulife Financial Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.