Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Price Target to $49.00

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFCFree Report) (TSE:MFC) had its price objective lowered by Royal Bank Of Canada from $51.00 to $49.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 target price on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, May 19th.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MFC opened at $30.11 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.55. Manulife Financial has a fifty-two week low of $24.77 and a fifty-two week high of $33.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.01.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFCGet Free Report) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 10.46%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.3199 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This is a positive change from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Manulife Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 156.1% during the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the first quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the second quarter worth $55,000. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Manulife Financial

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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.

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