Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's Why

Key Points

• Trading volume surged 415% to approximately 11.5 million shares, while Manulife shares traded at $42.43 versus the prior close of $43.42.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $59 price target; RBC raised its target from $55 to $67 and rated the stock “outperform.”
• Manulife exceeded quarterly EPS expectations ($0.79 versus $0.78) and reported 7.3% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, implying a 4.6% annualized yield.

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC saw strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 11,500,112 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 415% from the previous session's volume of 2,231,623 shares.The stock last traded at $42.43 and had previously closed at $43.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.38 and a 200 day moving average of $38.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 9.99%.The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Manulife Financial's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is 53.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MFC. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial in the second quarter worth about $25,000. First Bancorp Inc ME purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Canerector Inc. grew its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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