Brighton Jones LLC Buys 2,376 Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 33.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Manulife Financial were worth $288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 3,333 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 93,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,879,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 140.9% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $848,000 after buying an additional 16,153 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

NYSE MFC opened at $30.36 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.25. Manulife Financial Co. has a one year low of $21.54 and a one year high of $33.07. The firm has a market cap of $52.48 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.09.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 9.79%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.296 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 59.42%.

About Manulife Financial

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.