Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC)’s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$44.67 and traded as high as C$50.45. Manulife Financial shares last traded at C$50.23, with a volume of 6,127,986 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MFC. UBS Group raised Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$47.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$52.00 in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Desjardins set a C$55.00 price target on shares of Manulife Financial and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$50.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$51.25.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of C$48.05 and a 200-day moving average of C$44.67. The stock has a market capitalization of C$84.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.94.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported C$1.16 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$26.23 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 11.75%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Manulife Financial

In other Manulife Financial news, insider Shamus Edward Weiland sold 88,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$48.95, for a total value of C$4,332,075.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 53,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$2,618,580.25. This represents a 62.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Rahim Hirji sold 25,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$48.25, for a total value of C$1,208,566.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,510,948.75. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.