JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd Has $494.15 Million Stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,560,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,422,205 shares during the period. Manulife Financial accounts for about 3.0% of JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd owned approximately 1.04% of Manulife Financial worth $494,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.3% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 25,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 3,171 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 23.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 69,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after acquiring an additional 13,069 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.5% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 30,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.0% in the second quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC now owns 30,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $809,000 after acquiring an additional 1,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.1% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 201,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,374,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays initiated coverage on Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Dbs Bank upgraded Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.67.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

MFC opened at $28.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $50.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.54. Manulife Financial Co. has a one year low of $17.07 and a one year high of $28.56.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $9.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.95 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 9.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 66.86%.

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.