Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC - Get Free Report) NYSE: MFC's stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$43.27 and traded as high as C$44.12. Manulife Financial shares last traded at C$43.73, with a volume of 7,454,959 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bankshares lowered their price target on Manulife Financial from C$50.00 to C$49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Manulife Financial from C$53.00 to C$50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities upped their price target on Manulife Financial from C$48.00 to C$49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays lowered their price target on Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$45.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Manulife Financial from C$51.00 to C$46.00 in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$48.00.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of C$42.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$43.24. The stock has a market capitalization of C$77.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.82, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.06.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 19th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ka Ming (Kenneth) Dai sold 1,073 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$42.96, for a total value of C$46,091.79. Also, Director Anna Manning sold 2,615 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.40, for a total value of C$116,106.00. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,070 shares of company stock valued at $2,744,604. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.