Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Purchased by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 131.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 644,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 365,761 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $19,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MFC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 52,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 64.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 12,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 5,030 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth about $794,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.0% during the second quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 13,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the period. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 37.1% in the second quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 214,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,714,000 after acquiring an additional 58,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barclays started coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $30.95 on Friday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $20.78 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The company has a market capitalization of $54.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.29.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.79%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.296 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Manulife Financial’s 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.