Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 7,807,021 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 243% from the previous session’s volume of 2,273,081 shares.The stock last traded at $38.5220 and had previously closed at $38.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MFC. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.2%

The company has a market cap of $63.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.38 and its 200 day moving average is $36.42.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. Analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.35%.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFC. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

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.