Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Director Rocco Gori Sells 48,640 Shares of Stock

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) Director Rocco Gori sold 48,640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$35.25, for a total value of C$1,714,560.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Manulife Financial stock opened at C$36.34 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is C$33.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$30.29. The firm has a market capitalization of C$65.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 1.09. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52 week low of C$23.69 and a 52 week high of C$36.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 45.69.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported C$0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.84 by C$0.08. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 20.05% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The business had revenue of C$14.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$10.24 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Co. will post 3.6797312 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MFC shares. Veritas Investment Research restated a “reduce” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore boosted their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$36.00 to C$37.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$40.00 to C$41.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$34.00 to C$38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from C$29.00 to C$36.00 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$37.30.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.