Anchor Investment Management LLC Acquires 900 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,806,508,000 after acquiring an additional 727,764 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.8% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,803,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $749,435,000 after acquiring an additional 3,720,693 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 750,422 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 34.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 19,723,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $525,042,000 after acquiring an additional 5,036,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,783,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,592,000 after acquiring an additional 75,244 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MFC. Barclays began coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.67.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $30.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.98. Manulife Financial Co. has a one year low of $17.07 and a one year high of $30.25.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 9.18%. The business had revenue of $9.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 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.