Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Manulife Financial shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, trading at C$44.14 with a volume of nearly 2 million shares.
• Analysts have mixed reviews, with ratings ranging from "outperform" to "equal weight," and a consensus target price adjustment to C$47.75.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, reflecting a 4.0% yield and a payout ratio of 54.19%.

Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC - Get Free Report) NYSE: MFC crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$42.57 and traded as high as C$44.19. Manulife Financial shares last traded at C$44.14, with a volume of 1,987,734 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Manulife Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of C$74.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$42.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$42.57.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Manulife Financial

In other news, insider Paul Lorentz sold 178,425 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 79,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$3,349,067. The trade was a 69.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

About Manulife Financial

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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