Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Director Adam Thomas Wise Sells 3,500 Shares

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) Director Adam Thomas Wise sold 3,500 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$46.47, for a total transaction of C$162,645.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$116,035.59. This represents a 58.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Manulife Financial stock traded down C$0.41 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting C$45.46. 1,205,353 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,843,861. The stock has a market capitalization of C$76.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50-day moving average is C$50.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$47.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.80, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 2.12. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12 month low of C$36.93 and a 12 month high of C$52.97.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported C$1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$22.03 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 11.34%. Equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 57.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MFC. Desjardins set a C$55.00 target price on Manulife Financial and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$54.00 to C$58.00 in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from C$50.00 to C$58.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$55.00 to C$56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$52.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$55.63.

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.