Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 21,403,764 Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 21,403,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $777,229,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Blueline Advisors LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 269.2% in the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, American Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $38.22 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $37.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.42. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $29.70 and a 12-month high of $40.40. The firm has a market cap of $63.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.87.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.The business had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MFC. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Company 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.