55,798 Shares in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Acquired by Madison Investment Advisors LLC

Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 55,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,714,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 16.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,988,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,426,000 after buying an additional 279,418 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 148.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 73,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,382,000 after purchasing an additional 43,877 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $330,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 88,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 11,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,809,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,578,000 after purchasing an additional 81,799 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MFC stock opened at $30.45 on Friday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $22.61 and a 12-month high of $33.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.05 and a 200-day moving average of $30.27. The company has a market capitalization of $52.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.05.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.07. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The business had revenue of $9.31 billion during the quarter. On average, equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.3094 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.45%.

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.