Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Buys Shares of 2,014 Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $62,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Manulife Financial by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 126,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,727,000 after acquiring an additional 29,918 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 4,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,035,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,202,000 after purchasing an additional 36,838 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 1.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 396,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,704,000 after purchasing an additional 4,586 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Manulife Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

Manulife Financial stock opened at $31.14 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.05. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $22.61 and a 1-year high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $9.31 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 10.08%. On average, research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.3094 dividend. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MFC. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.50.

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.