Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $43.56 and last traded at $42.4850, with a volume of 1503432 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Up 0.6%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.86. The company has a market cap of $71.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 16.58%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.75%.

Institutional Trading of Manulife Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MFC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Manulife Financial by 179.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 18,222 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,757,000 after buying an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its position in Manulife Financial by 814.3% in the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,544,000 after buying an additional 5,699,999 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.