Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys 963 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 963 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $297,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $473,568,000. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 750.5% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,910,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,990,000 after acquiring an additional 8,745,071 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Manulife Financial by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,066,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $823,074,000 after acquiring an additional 7,766,870 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 20,710,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $459,108,000 after purchasing an additional 6,663,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Manulife Financial by 694.2% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,984,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,482,367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of MFC stock opened at $26.62 on Monday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $17.07 and a 12 month high of $26.81. The firm has a market cap of $47.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.04. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.28% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The business had revenue of $9.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.85 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. National Bank Financial upgraded Manulife Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

About Manulife Financial

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.