Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) to Issue $0.40 Quarterly Dividend

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 6th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of 0.40 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at C$43.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.60, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 36.68. The business’s 50 day moving average price is C$39.84 and its 200 day moving average price is C$36.88. The company has a market cap of C$77.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.06. Manulife Financial has a one year low of C$24.90 and a one year high of C$43.77.

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported C$0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$0.88 by C$0.03. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 10.41%. The firm had revenue of C$12.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$12.27 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 3.6104452 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MFC. National Bankshares raised their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$38.00 to C$43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays set a C$39.00 target price on Manulife Financial and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. CIBC upped their price target on Manulife Financial from C$36.00 to C$42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$42.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$40.82.

Insider Transactions at Manulife Financial

In other Manulife Financial news, Director Matthew Lyman Macinnis sold 6,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$34.67, for a total transaction of C$232,566.36. In other Manulife Financial news, Director Matthew Lyman Macinnis sold 6,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$34.67, for a total transaction of C$232,566.36. Also, Senior Officer Steve Finch sold 11,599 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$35.73, for a total transaction of C$414,439.23. In the last three months, insiders have sold 68,821 shares of company stock worth $2,455,596. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.