Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.32

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 7th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of 0.3199 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, September 19th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This is a 0.2% increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32.

Manulife Financial has a payout ratio of 40.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Manulife Financial to earn $3.15 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.6%.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 0.6%

Manulife Financial stock opened at $30.40 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $51.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.01. Manulife Financial has a 1-year low of $25.72 and a 1-year high of $33.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.55.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, May 19th.

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.