PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators Makes New $10.98 Million Investment in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 302,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,984,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Blueline Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 269.2% in the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the third quarter worth $36,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC stock opened at $38.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $64.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.38 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $29.70 and a 1-year high of $40.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $37.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.57.

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

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MFC shares. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two equities research 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.