Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New $17.47 Million Investment in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 481,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,465,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 269.2% during the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 208.8% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. American Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, LOM Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MFC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $38.56 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $64.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.25. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $29.70 and a fifty-two week high of $40.40.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.35%.

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.