Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Buys 894 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 8.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,526,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,307,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086,776 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,066,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $823,074,000 after purchasing an additional 7,766,870 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $473,568,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 20,710,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $459,108,000 after purchasing an additional 6,663,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 12,840,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,277,000 after purchasing an additional 169,335 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $25.69 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $45.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.09. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $17.07 and a 12-month high of $26.81. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.62.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $9.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.85 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.28% and a return on equity of 16.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, National Bank Financial raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.33.

About Manulife Financial

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.