Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$83.14 and traded as high as C$89.10. Sun Life Financial shares last traded at C$88.68, with a volume of 982,393 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLF has been the topic of several research reports. National Bankshares dropped their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$95.00 to C$93.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$87.00 to C$86.00 in a report on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$96.00 to C$90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 21st. CIBC dropped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$94.00 to C$89.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$94.00 to C$90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$86.89.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$50.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of C$83.10 and a 200 day moving average of C$83.14. The company has a quick ratio of 84,866.00, a current ratio of 92.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.00.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is currently 48.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 37,662 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$87.60, for a total transaction of C$3,299,191.20. Also, Senior Officer Stephen Peacher sold 80,048 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$87.70, for a total transaction of C$7,020,209.60. Insiders sold 144,522 shares of company stock valued at $12,657,675 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.