OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Takes $90.90 Million Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,500,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $90,899,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp owned 0.15% of Manulife Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MFC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 179.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 18,222 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 18.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 8,900 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 13.1% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 814.3% during the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,544,000 after purchasing an additional 5,699,999 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of MFC stock opened at $40.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.81. Manulife Financial Corp has a fifty-two week low of $29.70 and a fifty-two week high of $40.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MFC shares. Weiss Ratings raised Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Profile

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.