Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $41.74 and last traded at $41.1940, with a volume of 775329 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $41.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MFC. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $69.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.59.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.75%.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MFC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Manulife Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,317,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,843,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606,480 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 38,181,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,388,259,000 after acquiring an additional 542,834 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,550,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,041,431,000 after purchasing an additional 728,643 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $777,229,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,885,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $616,479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145,099 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.