Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.32

Key Points

• Manulife Financial Corp has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share, marking a modest 0.2% increase from its previous dividend.
• The company's payout ratio stands at 40.3%, indicating that its dividend is well-covered by earnings, with expected earnings per share of $3.15 for the next year.
• Manulife's stock recently traded down to $30.11, with a market capitalization of $51.29 billion and a P/E ratio of 15.76.

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 7th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of 0.3199 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, September 19th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This is a 0.2% increase from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32.

Manulife Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 40.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Manulife Financial to earn $3.15 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.6%.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.6%

Manulife Financial stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $29.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 148,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,284,301. The firm has a market cap of $50.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.01. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of $24.94 and a twelve month high of $33.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.55.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 10.46%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Manulife Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,333,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,316,162,000 after purchasing an additional 369,638 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 6.6% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,093,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,155,639,000 after acquiring an additional 2,289,205 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 24,614,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $755,367,000 after purchasing an additional 230,105 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 7.3% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 24,425,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $760,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,812,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $699,948,000 after acquiring an additional 902,466 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.