Hurley Capital LLC Buys New Holdings in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $95,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, CKW Financial Group acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Manulife Financial stock opened at $27.79 on Friday. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $22.61 and a 1 year high of $33.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $30.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.50. The firm has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.3094 dividend. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 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.