Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$58.00 and last traded at C$57.72, with a volume of 937056 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$57.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD cut their target price on Manulife Financial from C$59.00 to C$58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. National Bank Financial raised their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Desjardins set a C$58.00 price objective on Manulife Financial and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$57.00.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of C$95.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of C$53.13 and a 200-day moving average of C$50.72.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported C$1.06 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rahul Madhav Joshi sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$54.29, for a total transaction of C$1,357,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 77,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$4,190,373.65. The trade was a 24.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Aimee Decamillo sold 18,000 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$51.77, for a total value of C$931,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$258,642.92. The trade was a 78.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold 136,834 shares of company stock valued at $7,311,659 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.