HB Wealth Management LLC Has $1.78 Million Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 42.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,076 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $1,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MFC. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Eastern Bank raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 156.1% in the 2nd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MFC. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. CIBC raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Cibc Captl Mkts upgraded Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of MFC opened at $37.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $62.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 0.83. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52 week low of $25.92 and a 52 week high of $37.58. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $35.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.62.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.10. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.81%.The business had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. 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.