13,345 Shares in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) Acquired by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 13,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 54,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,661,000 after acquiring an additional 5,369 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 22,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $702,000 after acquiring an additional 5,824 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 13,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 1,067.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 686,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,080,000 after acquiring an additional 627,614 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of MFC opened at $30.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.09. Manulife Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $20.78 and a twelve month high of $33.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.32 and a 200-day moving average of $29.12.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.73 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 16.11%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.296 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. 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. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.42%.

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.