Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported C$1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, FiscalAI reports. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 11.34%. The firm had revenue of C$2.15 billion for the quarter.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.7%

TSE:MFC opened at C$51.15 on Friday. Manulife Financial has a 1 year low of C$41.08 and a 1 year high of C$55.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is C$49.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$49.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.80, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 2.58. The company has a market cap of C$85.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.74.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 57.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$55.00 to C$56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities decreased their target price on Manulife Financial from C$60.00 to C$59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. National Bank Financial boosted their target price on Manulife Financial from C$56.00 to C$59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD dropped their price target on Manulife Financial from C$59.00 to C$58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of C$57.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Manulife Financial

In related news, Director Adam Thomas Wise sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$46.47, for a total transaction of C$162,645.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$116,035.59. The trade was a 58.36% decrease in their position. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.