Midwest Professional Planners LTD. Purchases New Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Midwest Professional Planners LTD. purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 10,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 33,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 69,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFC has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

MFC stock opened at $29.45 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.73 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.05. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $22.61 and a 1 year high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.07. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. The business had revenue of $9.31 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.3094 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.45%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.