Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Buys New Shares in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 15,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $571,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MFC. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Sfam LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Blueline Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $40.75 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $38.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.81. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $29.70 and a 1-year high of $40.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MFC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Company 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.