Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Given New C$50.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) had its price target reduced by Scotiabank from C$53.00 to C$50.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$48.00 to C$49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. CIBC raised their price target on Manulife Financial from C$47.00 to C$48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$49.00 to C$45.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$51.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$46.00.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of TSE:MFC opened at C$42.70 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$42.15 and a 200 day moving average price of C$43.12. Manulife Financial has a 12-month low of C$32.24 and a 12-month high of C$46.42. The company has a market capitalization of C$74.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.06.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 19th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Manulife Financial news, Director Kenneth Michael Ross sold 3,219 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.91, for a total transaction of C$144,572.68. Also, Director Brooks Tingle sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$43.43, for a total value of C$167,882.21. Insiders sold 18,683 shares of company stock worth $816,102 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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.