Erste Asset Management GmbH Invests $2.04 Million in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 68,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,036,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,057,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $640,411,000 after acquiring an additional 750,422 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 34.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 19,723,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $525,042,000 after purchasing an additional 5,036,716 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Manulife Financial by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,783,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,592,000 after purchasing an additional 75,244 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,186,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,455,000 after buying an additional 158,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,928,316 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MFC. Dbs Bank upgraded Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC stock opened at $32.07 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $19.53 and a 1-year high of $33.07. The company has a market cap of $56.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.01.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 16.11%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.296 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.