Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Position Lifted by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 161.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,866,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,153,792 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial comprises approximately 1.7% of Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $64,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,016,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $145,709,000 after buying an additional 363,963 shares in the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC raised its position in Manulife Financial by 253.9% in the third quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 326,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,168,000 after acquiring an additional 234,174 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its position in Manulife Financial by 1,092.1% in the fourth quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 51,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,873,000 after acquiring an additional 47,301 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 55.5% in the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,351,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,401,000 after acquiring an additional 839,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 933,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,087,000 after acquiring an additional 86,299 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $41.31 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $39.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.55. The company has a market cap of $68.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $29.70 and a 12-month high of $41.74.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.89 billion during 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 last year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank reiterated 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, May 28th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.