Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) Insider Paul Lorentz Sells 178,425 Shares of Stock

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) (NYSE:MFC) insider Paul Lorentz sold 178,425 shares of Manulife Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$41.90, for a total transaction of C$7,476,007.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 79,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$3,349,067. This trade represents a 69.06% decrease in their position.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:MFC opened at C$42.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of C$72.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is C$42.17 and its 200-day moving average is C$42.56. Manulife Financial Co. has a 52 week low of C$36.65 and a 52 week high of C$46.42.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MFC. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$46.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$51.00 to C$49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, National Bankshares dropped their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$48.00 to C$47.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$47.75.

About Manulife Financial

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.