B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 30,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 77.2% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 11,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 73.6% in the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $29.89 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.00. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $17.07 and a 12 month high of $30.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.16%. The company had revenue of $9.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given 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 yield of 3.88%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 66.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Dbs Bank upgraded Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.67.

Manulife Financial 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.