Manulife Financial Corp $MFC Shares Acquired by Cidel Asset Management Inc.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 10.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 914,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,954 shares during the period. Manulife Financial makes up about 1.9% of Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $39,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MGO One Seven LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Americana Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 66,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,852,000 after buying an additional 1,567 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $918,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 195.7% during the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 14,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 9,882 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $44.65 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.97. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $31.92 and a 12 month high of $45.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a C$0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MFC. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.75.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife has grown into a diversified provider of insurance, wealth and asset management, and retirement solutions. Its common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MFC.

Manulife offers life, health, and property and casualty insurance, along with retirement products, investment solutions, financial advice, and institutional asset management services.