DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $51.08 Million Stock Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 10.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,088,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 200,426 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.12% of Manulife Financial worth $51,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,289,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,806,508,000 after acquiring an additional 727,764 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,066,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $823,074,000 after buying an additional 7,766,870 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 14.8% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,803,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $749,435,000 after buying an additional 3,720,693 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 57.9% during the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 23,307,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $582,444,000 after buying an additional 8,548,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $473,568,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MFC traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.74. 6,909,094 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,613,034. The firm has a market cap of $44.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.61. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $17.07 and a 12 month high of $27.51.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 9.28%. The business had revenue of $9.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.85 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.69%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 67.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.