Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Buys 198,208 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 642,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 198,208 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $20,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,336,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,440,795,000 after buying an additional 2,003,226 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Manulife Financial by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 25,155,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $803,975,000 after acquiring an additional 730,187 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $632,238,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Manulife Financial by 19.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,008,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $453,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Manulife Financial by 5.0% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,015,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $384,409,000 after purchasing an additional 567,834 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MFC opened at $36.25 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.42. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $25.92 and a 12 month high of $36.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.10. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.81%.The company had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 26th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 55.56%.

Manulife Financial Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.