Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Releases Earnings Results

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.2%

Manulife Financial stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.62. The stock had a trading volume of 849,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,265,190. The stock has a market cap of $62.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.87. Manulife Financial has a 12 month low of $29.70 and a 12 month high of $40.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $36.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.01.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 63.96%.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 27,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $987,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Haven Private LLC increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 50,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,836,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 16,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $581,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MFC. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings cut Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.