Aviso Financial Inc. Purchases 16,967 Shares of Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Aviso Financial Inc. increased its position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 10.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 172,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,967 shares during the quarter. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $5,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.3% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 8,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.7% in the second quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 20,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 4,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 53,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,675,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Haven Private LLC grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 9,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.8%

MFC stock opened at $35.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 0.83. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12 month low of $25.92 and a 12 month high of $38.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.13.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 63.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MFC. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, November 14th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

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.