Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF - Get Free Report) NYSE: SLF crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$77.03 and traded as high as C$82.81. Sun Life Financial shares last traded at C$82.65, with a volume of 586,366 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on SLF. TD Securities lifted their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$81.00 to C$87.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$85.00 to C$96.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. National Bankshares raised Sun Life Financial from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from C$82.00 to C$95.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$87.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$78.00 to C$82.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$86.64.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of C$48.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.77, a current ratio of 65.29 and a quick ratio of 84,866.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of C$84.96 and a 200-day moving average price of C$77.03.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a $0.84 dividend. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is presently 61.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sun Life Financial

In related news, Director Kevin Strain sold 85,943 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$84.71, for a total transaction of C$7,280,231.53. Also, Senior Officer Linda Dougherty acquired 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$84.83 per share, with a total value of C$492,014.00. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.