iA Financial (TSE:IAG) Sets New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

iA Financial Co. Inc. (TSE:IAG - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as C$141.88 and last traded at C$139.94, with a volume of 75594 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$132.87.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. iA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IAG. Scotiabank downgraded iA Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on iA Financial from C$140.00 to C$150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. National Bankshares boosted their price target on iA Financial from C$118.00 to C$121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. National Bank Financial downgraded iA Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Cormark upped their target price on iA Financial from C$127.00 to C$130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$140.63.

iA Financial Trading Down 1.6 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$131.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$120.05. The stock has a market cap of C$11.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other iA Financial news, Director Denis Ricard sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$137.00, for a total value of C$685,000.00. Also, Senior Officer Alain Bergeron sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$134.00, for a total value of C$368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$67,000. This represents a 84.62 % decrease in their position. Insiders have sold a total of 11,010 shares of company stock worth $1,489,142 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

iA Financial Company Profile

iA Financial Corporation Inc, provides insurance and wealth management services in Canada and the United States. The company operates through Insurance, Canada; Wealth Management; Investment; and US Operations segments. The company provides health, auto, home, and creditor insurance products; replacement insurance products and warranties; extended warranties and other ancillary products for dealer services; specialized products for special markets; and life insurance products and extended warranties relating to dealer services.