Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Makes New $5.63 Million Investment in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 138,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,626,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1,092.1% during the 4th quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 51,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,873,000 after buying an additional 47,301 shares in the last quarter. Canerector Inc. increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 183.7% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,702,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,969,000 after acquiring an additional 7,577,711 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 5,645,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $194,191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $92,762,000. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $43.29 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.20. Manulife Financial Corp has a one year low of $30.43 and a one year high of $45.33. The stock has a market cap of $71.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.99% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Manulife Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 51.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

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.