Originally published on Best Stocks Category: best stocks to buy now According to the information provided by Zacks, Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE: MFC) (TSE: MFC) disclosed on November 9 that it would be paying a quarterly dividend going forward. As a result, stockholders who had their shares recorded on the books as of Tuesday, November 22, will receive a $0.242 dividend payment per share from the company that provides financial services on Monday, December 19. This payment will be made to those stockholders who had their shares recorded on the books as of Tuesday, November 22. Consequently, the dividend yield comes to 5.60%, and the annual dividend payment comes to $0.97. On Monday, November 21, you will be responsible for paying the dividend.Manulife Financial has increased the amount of money it pays out as dividends over the past three years by an average annualized rate of 9.9%. A payout ratio of 42.1% indicates that a company’s earnings are sufficient to cover its dividend. This is the case with Manulife Financial, which possesses this ratio. Put another way, the dividend is supported by the company’s earnings. With a prospective payout ratio of 42.5%, Manulife Financial should be able to fulfill its obligation to pay its annual dividend of $1.02 if it achieves its expected earnings of $2.40 per share. This would allow the company to meet its obligation to pay the dividend.Friday marked the first day of trading on the NYSE MFC, and the opening price was $17.28. The moving average of the company’s stock price over the past 200 days is $17.47, and the moving average over the last fifty days is $16.48. Over the last 52 weeks, a share of Manulife Financial has ranged from $14.92 to $22.19, with a price of $22.19 serving the average. The company has a market capitalization of 32.63 billion dollars, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72, a beta value of 1.14, and the ratio of price-to-earnings-growth to price-to-earnings is 0.72.On August 10, 2018, the results of Manulife Financial’s most recent quarterly operations were made public. Manulife Financial trades on the NYSE and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the MFC ticker symbol. The company that provides financial services had earnings per share of $0.61 for the quarter, which was $0.01 more than the average forecast from analysts in the financial services industry. However, the actual revenue that the company brought in for the quarter was $12.04 billion, which is considerably higher than the prediction of $11.51 billion that the analysts came up with. In the same period as the previous year, the business made a profit of $0.68 per share. Analysts who work on the sell-side predict that Manulife Financial will post earnings of $2.33 per share in 2018, according to the consensus among these analysts.In recent months, institutional investors have been involved in various share transactions involving MFC, in purchasing and selling various amounts of stock. Estabrook Capital Management made a new investment in Manulife Financial by contributing $169,000 to the company during the year’s first three months. This investment was made during the first quarter of the year. Verition Fund Management LLC made a new investment in Manulife Financial during the second quarter, and the total cost of this investment was 201 thousand dollars. During the first quarter, Forum Financial Management LP started a new position worth 203,000 dollars and was invested in Manulife Financial. Finally, engineers Gate Manager LP was given approximately 218 thousand dollars as part of a new investment by Manulife Financial during the first three months of the year.Last but not least, during the first three months of 2018, Brinker Capital Investments LLC added 5.3% more Manulife Financial stock to its holdings, bringing the total percentage of the company’s stock it owned to 88.5%. Brinker Capital Investments LLC now has 12,449 shares in its portfolio, having increased its holdings during the most recent quarter by purchasing an additional 624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock. The value of these shares on the market as of right now is $266,000. There are 44.50% of the company’s shares owned by institutional shareholders. These shares are currently valued at $266,000, $266,000, $266,000, and $2.Several distinct analysts contributed to the creation of recent reports on the stock that were published. In a research note published on August 15, Desjardins increased their price target on Manulife Financial shares from the previous level of C$24.00 (the previous level) to the new level of C$25.00 (the new level). StockNews.com released the first of its research articles on Manulife Financial on October 12, 2013, a Wednesday. They advised their clients to “hold” the stock moving forward. Barclays announced on Wednesday, October 12, that they would be decreasing their target price for Manulife Financial from C$30.00 to C$29.00. This change was made public in a research report published on Wednesday, October 12. In a research note published on July 27, Scotiabank changed the rating of Manulife Financial from “sector perform” to “sector outperform.” Before this change, the rating was “sector perform.” National Bank Financial lowered their price objective on Manulife Financial shares from C$25.00 (the previous level) to C$24.00 (the new level) in a report made public on Friday, October 28. Three research analysts have recommended that investors buy the company’s stock, seven have suggested that investors maintain their current holdings, and one has suggested that investors sell the stock. The information from Bloomberg.com indicates that the stock is recommended “Hold” and that analysts’ current price projections for it average $28.75. In addition, the data indicates that the stock’s market capitalization is currently estimated to beThe financial goods and services that Manulife Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries provide are available in several countries worldwide. These countries include the United States of America, Canada, and Asia. The business can be partitioned into three distinct divisions: insurance and annuity products, corporate and other insurance, and wealth and asset management. In addition, each of these divisions can be further subdivided into further subcategories. For example, a company’s agents and brokers, securities brokerage companies, financial advisors, pension plan consultants, and banks are all included in the wealth and asset management businesses sector, a segment of the overall market. Additionally, this division provides:Group retirement and savings products.Exchange-traded funds.Mutual funds.Services for managing institutional assets.