Financial & Tax Architects LLC Makes New $515,000 Investment in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Financial & Tax Architects LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $515,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Manulife Financial by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 179.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $872,000 after acquiring an additional 18,222 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 8,900 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,544,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699,999 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $40.51 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1 year low of $29.70 and a 1 year high of $41.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.22. The firm has a market cap of $67.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. 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.