Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Boosts Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 22.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 177,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,039 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $4,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 9.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 34,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 2,970 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $620,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 11.4% in the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 41,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 4,223 shares in the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 3.2% in the first quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 494,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,371,000 after acquiring an additional 15,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the topic of several analyst reports. National Bank Financial raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.00.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Manulife Financial stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 114,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,985,568. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $25.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.94. The firm has a market cap of $47.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.09. Manulife Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $17.07 and a fifty-two week high of $27.02.

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

Manulife Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 67.44%.

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.