Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Price Target Raised to C$70.00

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) had its price target increased by Jefferies Financial Group from C$61.00 to C$70.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MFC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. National Bank Financial increased their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Desjardins set a C$58.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$61.00 to C$69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, TD upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$58.00 to C$65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of C$62.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC stock opened at C$60.69 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is C$56.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$52.44. Manulife Financial has a 1 year low of C$41.08 and a 1 year high of C$61.18. The stock has a market capitalization of C$100.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.71.

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. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 11.97%.The firm had revenue of C$2.15 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Aimee Decamillo sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$51.77, for a total value of C$931,860.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$258,642.92. This trade represents a 78.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Rahul Madhav Joshi sold 50,000 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$53.76, for a total transaction of C$2,688,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,461,519.36. The trade was a 64.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders sold a total of 136,834 shares of company stock worth $7,311,659 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.