Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$46.10.

Several research firms recently weighed in on MFC. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$45.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. TD Securities raised their price target on Manulife Financial from C$48.00 to C$49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$51.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Monday. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$47.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a C$51.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:MFC opened at C$41.85 on Friday. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of C$31.52 and a twelve month high of C$46.42. The firm has a market cap of C$73.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of C$42.24 and a 200-day moving average of C$43.08.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 19th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Manulife Financial

In related news, Director Kenneth Michael Ross sold 3,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$44.91, for a total transaction of C$144,572.68. Also, Director Brooks Tingle sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$43.43, for a total transaction of C$167,882.21. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,683 shares of company stock valued at $816,102. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife provides life insurance and wealth management products and services to individuals and group customers in Canada, the United States, and Asia. Manulife is one of Canada’s Big Three Life Insurance companies (the other two are Sun Life and Great West Life). As of Dec. 31, 2021, Manulife reported assets under management or administration of about CAD $1.4 trillion.