Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Insider Sells C$2,688,000.00 in Stock

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) insider Rahul Madhav Joshi sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 C$1,461,519.36. This represents a 64.78% decrease in their position.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.9%

MFC traded down C$0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting C$53.33. The company had a trading volume of 4,393,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,119,412. The company has a market capitalization of C$89.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.74. Manulife Financial Co. has a one year low of C$41.08 and a one year high of C$55.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is C$50.61 and its 200 day moving average price is C$49.90.

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

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MFC. TD cut their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$59.00 to C$58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Manulife Financial from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Manulife Financial from C$54.00 to C$58.00 in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. National Bank Financial raised their price target on Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Desjardins set a C$58.00 price target on Manulife Financial and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.