Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Insider Sells C$747,575.34 in Stock

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) insider Melissa Jane Kennedy sold 7,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$101.49, for a total value of C$747,575.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$1,412,334.84. This trade represents a 34.61% decrease in their position.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF stock traded down C$1.25 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting C$99.18. 1,771,779 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,011,661. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of C$77.38 and a fifty-two week high of C$101.94. The stock has a market cap of C$54.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is C$93.71 and its 200-day moving average price is C$88.68.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly 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 12.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm had revenue of C$8.73 billion during the quarter. Research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 6.9230769 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SLF shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$95.00 to C$102.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$103.00 to C$115.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$104.00 to C$102.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$83.00 to C$95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD raised their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$102.00 to C$107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.