Brokerages Set Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Price Target at C$47.75

Key Points

• Manulife Financial Co. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with two hold recommendations and five buy recommendations.
• The average 12-month price target for the stock is C$47.75, reflecting recent valuation adjustments from various brokerages.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.0% based on a payout ratio of 54.19%.

Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC - Get Free Report) NYSE: MFC have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$47.75.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MFC shares. National Bankshares lowered their target price on Manulife Financial from C$48.00 to C$47.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Manulife Financial from C$46.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Manulife Financial from C$51.00 to C$49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th.

Insider Activity at Manulife Financial

In other news, insider Paul Lorentz sold 178,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$41.90, for a total transaction of C$7,476,007.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 79,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$3,349,067. This trade represents a 69.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold a total of 179,582 shares of company stock worth $7,516,321 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Manulife Financial stock traded up C$0.29 during trading hours on Monday, hitting C$43.86. 7,206,481 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,537,551. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$42.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$42.55. The company has a market cap of C$74.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.98. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of C$36.93 and a twelve month high of C$46.42.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

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.