Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s What Happened

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 7,807,021 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 243% from the previous session’s volume of 2,273,081 shares.The stock last traded at $38.5220 and had previously closed at $38.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $63.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $37.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.37.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.The company had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.35%.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manulife Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Canerector Inc. boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 27.0% in the first quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 170,000 shares during the period. Finally, Sfam LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.