Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Insider Sells C$1,139,836.60 in Stock

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) insider Jacques Jr. Goulet sold 11,740 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$97.09, for a total value of C$1,139,836.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$102,332.86. This trade represents a 91.76% decrease in their position.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of TSE SLF traded up C$0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching C$97.01. 935,475 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,003,395. The firm has a market capitalization of C$53.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.73. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of C$77.38 and a 52 week high of C$101.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is C$91.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$87.70.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported C$1.89 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$8.73 billion for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 9.12%. Research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 6.9230769 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 67.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SLF. National Bank Financial lowered their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$109.00 to C$108.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Desjardins set a C$101.00 target price on Sun Life Financial and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$83.00 to C$95.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$99.00 to C$105.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$103.00 to C$115.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$101.60.

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