Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 931 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tsfg LLC raised its position in Manulife Financial by 103.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Mustard Seed Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $205,000. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Manulife Financial by 3.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 173,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,122,000 after acquiring an additional 6,455 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 4.7% in the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 48,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 205,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,080,000 after acquiring an additional 22,354 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Dbs Bank raised shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Securities upped their price objective on Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $35.67.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE MFC opened at $30.67 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.31. The company has a market capitalization of $54.88 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $17.07 and a 1 year high of $30.67.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $9.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.95 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 9.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 66.86%.

Manulife Financial Profile

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.