Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Price Target Increased to $40.00 by Analysts at TD Securities

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) had its price target raised by TD Securities from $38.00 to $40.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. TD Securities currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, National Bank Financial raised Manulife Financial from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $35.00.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $26.62 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.64 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.09. Manulife Financial has a 1 year low of $17.07 and a 1 year high of $26.81.

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

Manulife Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,289,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,806,508,000 after acquiring an additional 727,764 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,066,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $823,074,000 after acquiring an additional 7,766,870 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,803,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $749,435,000 after acquiring an additional 3,720,693 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 57.9% during the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 23,307,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $582,444,000 after acquiring an additional 8,548,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $473,568,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

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.