Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC - Get Free Report) NYSE: MFC's share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$42.68 and traded as high as C$45.78. Manulife Financial shares last traded at C$45.17, with a volume of 3,576,414 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced 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 note on Friday, August 8th. National Bankshares reduced their price target on 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. Desjardins upped their price target on Manulife Financial from C$48.00 to C$52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on Manulife Financial from C$47.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Securities upped their target price on Manulife Financial from C$50.00 to C$54.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$48.89.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of C$76.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.93. The company's 50 day moving average is C$43.01 and its 200-day moving average is C$42.68.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Paul Lorentz sold 178,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 79,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$3,349,067. This trade represents a 69.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 179,582 shares of company stock valued at $7,516,321. 0.03% of the stock is currently 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.

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