Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $44.85 and last traded at $44.7160, with a volume of 817 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MFC shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.16. The stock has a market cap of $74.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 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 the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Manulife Financial by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,016,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $145,709,000 after buying an additional 363,963 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lifted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1,092.1% during the fourth quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 51,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,873,000 after acquiring an additional 47,301 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 25.7% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 5,645,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $194,191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,200 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,351,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,401,000 after acquiring an additional 839,820 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 183.7% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,702,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,969,000 after acquiring an additional 7,577,711 shares in the last quarter. 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.