Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 10,891,205 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 426% from the previous session’s volume of 2,071,174 shares.The stock last traded at $35.8250 and had previously closed at $35.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MFC shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $59.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.00.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manulife Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Trading Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $468,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Manulife Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Compound Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 30,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 3,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 112,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,077,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079 shares during the period. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Manulife Financial

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.