Great-West Lifeco (TSE:GWO) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSE:GWO - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$50.68 and traded as high as C$51.75. Great-West Lifeco shares last traded at C$51.71, with a volume of 3,255,534 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$54.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$48.00 to C$47.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. CIBC dropped their price target on Great-West Lifeco from C$60.00 to C$57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Great-West Lifeco from C$58.00 to C$57.00 in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$53.00 price objective on shares of Great-West Lifeco and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Great-West Lifeco currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of C$55.56.

Great-West Lifeco Trading Up 0.8%

The firm has a market cap of C$46.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The firm's 50-day moving average is C$51.75 and its 200-day moving average is C$50.67.

Great-West Lifeco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.85%. Great-West Lifeco's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.79%.

Insider Activity at Great-West Lifeco

In related news, Senior Officer David Martin Harney sold 20,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$51.85, for a total transaction of C$1,073,263.95. Also, insider L.P. Great-West Lifeco U.S. Holdings sold 75,457 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$53.44, for a total transaction of C$4,032,671.09. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 132,857 shares of company stock valued at $6,979,455. 70.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Great-West Lifeco Company Profile

Great-West Lifeco is one of the three big Canadian life insurance firms. With just under half of the firm's profit and revenue in Canada, Great-West also operates in the U.S. and Europe. In Canada, Great-West provides both individual and group insurance. In the United States, Great-West operates Putnam Investments and defined-contribution recordkeeping firm Empower Retirement.