9,600 Shares in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Bought by Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MFC. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 478.5% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MFC shares. Desjardins raised Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.33.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE:MFC traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $24.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,358,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,224,294. Manulife Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $17.07 and a twelve month high of $25.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.89. The stock has a market cap of $43.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.08.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.05. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The business had revenue of $10.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.298 per share. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.88%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

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.