Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Insider Sells 50,000 Shares

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) insider Rahul Madhav Joshi sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$53.76, for a total transaction of C$2,688,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,461,519.36. This trade represents a 64.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.9%

MFC stock traded down C$0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching C$53.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,393,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,119,412. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52 week low of C$41.08 and a 52 week high of C$55.34. The stock has a market cap of C$89.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is C$50.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$49.90.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported C$1.06 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$2.15 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 12.65%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Co. will post 3.6104452 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MFC. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Manulife Financial from C$54.00 to C$58.00 in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Desjardins set a C$58.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. TD Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$60.00 to C$59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, National Bank Financial increased their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$57.00.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading international financial services provider that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better by providing financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as MFC on the TSX, NYSE, and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK. Manulife can be found at manulife.com. One of the largest life insurers in the United States, John Hancock supports more than ten million Americans with a broad range of financial products, including life insurance and annuities.