Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average of $69.42

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$69.42 and traded as high as C$70.33. Sun Life Financial shares last traded at C$70.30, with a volume of 1,084,115 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$70.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$75.00 to C$76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$75.00 to C$77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$76.82.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 78.47, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a current ratio of 6.81. The company has a market capitalization of C$40.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is C$72.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$69.42.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported C$1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$1.59 by C$0.09. The company had revenue of C$18.68 billion for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 10.26% and a return on equity of 13.98%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 6.9036382 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.32%.

Insider Transactions at Sun Life Financial

In related news, Senior Officer Daniel Fishbein sold 16,000 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$74.45, for a total transaction of C$1,191,120.00. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc, a financial services company, provides savings, retirement, and pension products worldwide. The company operates in five segments: Asset Management, Canada, U.S., Asia, and Corporate. It offers various insurance products, such as term and permanent life; personal health, which includes prescription drugs, dental, and vision care; critical illness; long-term care; and disability, as well as reinsurance.