Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases 126,030 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 454.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 126,030 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $4,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Manulife Financial by 16.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,988,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,426,000 after acquiring an additional 279,418 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 148.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 73,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,382,000 after purchasing an additional 43,877 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $330,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 88,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 11,509 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,809,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,578,000 after purchasing an additional 81,799 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE:MFC opened at $30.02 on Wednesday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $22.61 and a 1-year high of $33.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.05 and a 200 day moving average of $30.25. The firm has a market cap of $51.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.05.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.07. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.08% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The company had revenue of $9.31 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.3094 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 58.45%.

Manulife Financial Company 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.