On 2/24/14, Manulife Financial Corp.'s Non-cumulative Class A Shares, Series 1 (TSX: MFC-PRA.TO) will trade ex-dividend, for its quarterly dividend of $0.2562, payable on 3/19/14. As a percentage of MFC.PRA's recent share price of $25.75, this dividend works out to approximately 1.00%, so look for shares of MFC.PRA to trade 1.00% lower — all else being equal — when MFC.PRA shares open for trading on 2/24/14. On an annualized basis, the current yield is approximately 3.99%.
As of last close, MFC.PRA was trading at a 2.72% premium to its liquidation preference amount. Investors should keep in mind that the shares are not cumulative, meaning that in the event of a missed payment, the company does not have to pay the balance of missed dividends to preferred shareholders before resuming a common dividend. The chart below shows the one year performance of MFC.PRA shares, versus MFC:
Below is a dividend history chart for MFC.PRA, showing historical dividends prior to the most recent $0.2562 on Manulife Financial Corp.'s Non-cumulative Class A Shares, Series 1: 
According to the ETF Finder at ETF Channel, Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX: MFC.TO) makes up 1.12% of the SPDR S&P International Financial Sector ETF (IPF) which is trading relatively unchanged on the day Thursday. In Thursday trading, Manulife Financial Corp.'s Non-cumulative Class A Shares, Series 1 (TSX: MFC-PRA.TO) is currently up about 0.3% on the day, while the common shares (TSX: MFC.TO) are trading flat.
