OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 815 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial in the 1st quarter worth $142,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 89.6% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 12,100 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 2,913.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 86,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,163,000 after acquiring an additional 83,741 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 10.0% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 50,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after buying an additional 4,588 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 12.5% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,474,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,846,000 after purchasing an additional 606,712 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 1.6 %

MFC stock opened at $32.68 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.62. The company has a market cap of $57.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $18.91 and a 12 month high of $33.07.

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

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.296 per share. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

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.