Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MFC. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 57.9% during the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 23,307,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $582,444,000 after acquiring an additional 8,548,114 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 103.1% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,686,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $367,025,000 after purchasing an additional 7,456,712 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 14.8% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,803,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $749,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,720,693 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 288.4% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,943,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,966,000 after purchasing an additional 2,928,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth about $35,806,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Dbs Bank raised shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.6 %

MFC opened at $32.66 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.91 and its 200-day moving average is $27.43. The stock has a market cap of $57.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $18.80 and a twelve month high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.79%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.296 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 57.00%.

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.