Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Director Sells C$81,116.70 in Stock

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) Director Tin Ku sold 2,166 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$37.45, for a total value of C$81,116.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$9,474.85.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC traded down C$0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching C$37.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,310,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,696,492. The company has a market capitalization of C$65.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.60, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 36.68. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is C$36.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$34.52. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of C$23.69 and a 1-year high of C$37.58.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported C$0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.88 by C$0.03. The firm had revenue of C$12.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$12.27 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 10.41%. Analysts expect that Manulife Financial Co. will post 3.6883768 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is presently 68.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MFC. Evercore lifted their target price on Manulife Financial from C$36.00 to C$37.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$43.00 to C$42.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$40.00 to C$41.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “sector perform market weight” rating to an “outperform market weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, CIBC boosted their price target on Manulife Financial from C$34.00 to C$36.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$39.18.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.