Aviso Financial Inc. Has $5.38 Million Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Aviso Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 10.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 172,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,967 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $5,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 8,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC increased its position in Manulife Financial by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 20,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 9.0% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 4,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 53,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Haven Private LLC grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.0% in the third quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 9,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.8%

MFC stock opened at $35.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $59.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.13. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $25.92 and a 1-year high of $38.72.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.The company had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 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, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 63.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MFC shares. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

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.