Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. Takes $3.84 Million Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 105,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,835,000. Manulife Financial accounts for about 2.3% of Caldwell Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,317,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,843,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606,480 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 38,181,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,388,259,000 after purchasing an additional 542,834 shares during the period. Canerector Inc. raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 4,445.8% in the third quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 28,184,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $877,932,000 after purchasing an additional 27,564,000 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,822,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $866,649,000 after acquiring an additional 5,671,639 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $777,229,000. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MFC. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $38.83 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $37.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a one year low of $29.70 and a one year high of $40.40.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.