TD Securities Boosts Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Price Target to $40.00

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) had its price target lifted by TD Securities from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $35.00.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MFC opened at $26.32 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $25.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.83. Manulife Financial has a twelve month low of $17.07 and a twelve month high of $26.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.09.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $9.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.85 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.28% and a return on equity of 16.27%. Analysts predict that Manulife Financial will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.41%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.44%.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 27.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,845 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 10.6% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,088,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,084,000 after acquiring an additional 200,426 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 90.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 99,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,489,000 after acquiring an additional 47,303 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 386.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 144,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,620,000 after acquiring an additional 115,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invst LLC purchased a new position in Manulife Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

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.