Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Grows Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $2,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1,210.7% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,161,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072,474 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 2,913.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 86,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after purchasing an additional 83,741 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,783,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,592,000 after purchasing an additional 75,244 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 12.5% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,474,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,846,000 after purchasing an additional 606,712 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 3.2% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,057,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $640,411,000 after purchasing an additional 750,422 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MFC shares. Barclays started coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Dbs Bank raised shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

Manulife Financial stock opened at $32.57 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $18.91 and a 1-year high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 16.11%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.296 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 56.04%.

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.