Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. Buys 1,117 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 201,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares during the quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $4,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 694.2% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,984,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,482,367 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 45.7% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,932,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233,358 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,526,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,307,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086,776 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 21.5% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 5,005,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,508,000 after purchasing an additional 885,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 7.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,680,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,240,000 after acquiring an additional 775,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Desjardins upgraded Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.33.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MFC traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.41. 407,826 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,217,861. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $17.07 and a 12 month high of $25.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $24.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $10.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 15.98%. Analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.298 dividend. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.