Insider Selling: Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC) Senior Officer Sells 11,598 Shares of Stock

Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC - Get Free Report) NYSE: MFC Senior Officer Steve Finch sold 11,598 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$43.43, for a total value of C$503,646.63.

Manulife Financial Trading Down 4.8 %

Manulife Financial stock traded down C$2.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting C$42.27. The company had a trading volume of 11,153,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,064,845. The stock has a market cap of C$74.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.06. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of C$31.24 and a 1-year high of C$46.42. The company's 50 day simple moving average is C$43.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$42.01.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$50.00 to C$51.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$40.00 to C$47.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$47.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$48.00 to C$49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, National Bankshares increased their price objective on Manulife Financial from C$45.00 to C$47.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.