DRW Securities LLC Makes New Investment in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 34,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 34.3% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 19,723,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $525,042,000 after acquiring an additional 5,036,716 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 288.4% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,943,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,966,000 after buying an additional 2,928,316 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,806,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1,210.7% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,161,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,922,000 after buying an additional 1,072,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.2% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,057,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $640,411,000 after buying an additional 750,422 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $31.96 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $19.20 and a 1 year high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 16.11%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.296 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 57.00%.

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.