Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC - Get Free Report) NYSE: MFC passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$43.33 and traded as high as C$44.00. Manulife Financial shares last traded at C$43.92, with a volume of 16,224,474 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MFC. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Manulife Financial from C$51.00 to C$46.00 in a report on Monday, April 21st. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Manulife Financial from C$53.00 to C$50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada set a C$51.00 target price on Manulife Financial and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$45.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, National Bankshares reduced their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$50.00 to C$49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$48.00.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$76.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.06. The company's 50-day moving average is C$42.38 and its 200 day moving average is C$43.30.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is presently 49.79%.

Insider Activity at Manulife Financial

In other Manulife Financial news, Senior Officer Rahim Hirji sold 17,849 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$44.22, for a total transaction of C$789,272.07. Also, Director Anna Manning sold 2,615 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.40, for a total transaction of C$116,106.00. Insiders have sold a total of 65,289 shares of company stock worth $2,889,176 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.