Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Stock Passes Below 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF shares passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$83.55 and traded as low as C$83.48. Sun Life Financial shares last traded at C$83.75, with a volume of 1,604,481 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SLF shares. CIBC cut their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$94.00 to C$89.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$96.00 to C$90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$94.00 to C$90.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. National Bankshares lowered their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$94.00 to C$93.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$88.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$88.38.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is C$87.64 and its 200-day moving average price is C$83.56. The company has a market cap of C$48.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.00, a current ratio of 92.19 and a quick ratio of 84,866.00.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Sun Life Financial news, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 37,662 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$87.60, for a total transaction of C$3,299,191.20. Also, Senior Officer Jacques Jr. Goulet sold 44,199 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$88.17, for a total value of C$3,897,025.83. Over the last three months, insiders sold 188,721 shares of company stock worth $16,554,701. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial is one of Canada's Big Three life insurance companies along with Great-West Lifeco and Manulife. Sun Life provides insurance, retirement, and wealth-management services to individual and corporate customers in Canada, the United States, and Asia. It also owns MFS Investment Management, a Boston-based asset-management firm.