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

Key Points

• Sun Life Financial shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, trading as high as C$113.92 and last changing hands at C$113.81, which was up 1.2% on the day.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a consensus price target of C$101.60, while several firms recently raised their targets.
• The company recently boosted its quarterly dividend to C$0.96 per share, giving it an annualized yield of about 3.4%; Sun Life also reported C$1.89 in quarterly EPS on revenue of C$8.73 billion.

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$94.15 and traded as high as C$113.92. Sun Life Financial shares last traded at C$113.81, with a volume of 811,236 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$95.00 to C$102.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. TD boosted their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$102.00 to C$107.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$84.00 to C$85.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$99.00 to C$105.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Desjardins set a C$101.00 price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$101.60.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 1.2%

The business's 50-day simple moving average is C$104.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$94.15. The company has a current ratio of 6.03, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.51. The company has a market capitalization of C$63.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.79.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported C$1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business had revenue of C$8.73 billion for the quarter. On average, analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 6.9230769 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.04%.

Insider Activity at Sun Life Financial

In other Sun Life Financial news, insider Linda Dougherty sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$101.40, for a total value of C$354,900.00. Also, insider Jacques Jr. Goulet sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$97.80, for a total transaction of C$3,423,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$103,081.20. The trade was a 97.08% decrease in their position. Insiders sold 380,998 shares of company stock worth $38,271,605 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

About Sun Life Financial

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. Sun Life generates about a third of its profit from asset-management operations.

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