Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Bought by TD Asset Management Inc.

TD Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,803,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 228,863 shares during the quarter. Manulife Financial makes up approximately 0.9% of TD Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. TD Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 2.02% of Manulife Financial worth $1,068,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MFC. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,988,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,426,000 after buying an additional 279,418 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 43,877 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $330,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,719,000 after acquiring an additional 11,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,809,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,578,000 after purchasing an additional 81,799 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

NYSE MFC opened at $31.34 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.05. Manulife Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.61 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $9.31 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.3094 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.45%.

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.