BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Stake in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 618,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 91,264 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $22,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,317,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,843,882,000 after buying an additional 1,606,480 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,638,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,172,922,000 after buying an additional 2,079,330 shares during the period. Canerector Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 4,445.8% in the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 28,184,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $877,932,000 after buying an additional 27,564,000 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,822,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $866,649,000 after buying an additional 5,671,639 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $777,229,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.6%

MFC stock opened at $38.75 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.79 and a 200-day moving average of $36.57. The company has a market cap of $64.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38 and a beta of 0.84. Manulife Financial Corp has a 12-month low of $29.70 and a 12-month high of $40.40.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.75%.

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.