Insider Selling: Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Director Sells 3,866 Shares of Stock

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC - Get Free Report) NYSE: MFC Director Brooks Tingle sold 3,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$43.43, for a total transaction of C$167,882.21.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Manulife Financial stock traded down C$2.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching C$42.27. The stock had a trading volume of 11,153,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,064,845. Manulife Financial Co. has a twelve month low of C$31.24 and a twelve month high of C$46.42. The firm has a market cap of C$74.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is C$43.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$42.01.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 19th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This is an increase from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Manulife Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MFC. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$48.00 to C$49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from C$50.00 to C$51.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$48.00 to C$49.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$47.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$40.00 to C$47.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$45.60.

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.