Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Manulife Financial's shares crossed above the 200-day moving average during trading, reaching a high of C$43.38 and last trading at C$43.17.
• A number of analysts are optimistic about the stock, with Barclays raising its price target from C$46.00 to C$47.00 and a consensus target price of C$47.75 among analysts.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44, representing an annualized dividend of $1.76, which equates to a yield of 4.1%.

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC - Get Free Report) NYSE: MFC's share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$42.61 and traded as high as C$43.38. Manulife Financial shares last traded at C$43.17, with a volume of 4,077,790 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MFC shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$46.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$51.00 to C$49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, National Bankshares lowered their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$48.00 to C$47.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$47.75.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of C$73.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$42.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$42.61.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Insider Activity at Manulife Financial

In other news, insider Paul Lorentz sold 178,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$41.90, for a total transaction of C$7,476,007.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 79,930 shares in the company, valued at C$3,349,067. This represents a 69.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders sold a total of 179,582 shares of company stock worth $7,516,321 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is 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.

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