Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) (NYSE:SLF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as C$20.40 and last traded at C$99.26, with a volume of 1704130 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$100.43.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 67.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$103.00 to C$115.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$99.00 to C$105.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$95.00 to C$102.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$102.00 to C$107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, National Bank Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$109.00 to C$108.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$101.60.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 1.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of C$54.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of C$93.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$88.68.

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

Insider Transactions at Sun Life Financial

In other news, Director Kevin Strain sold 104,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$96.99, for a total transaction of C$10,159,120.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 42,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$4,073,580. This trade represents a 71.38% decrease in their position. Also, insider Linda Dougherty acquired 6,740 shares of Sun Life Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$97.97 per share, with a total value of C$660,317.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 13,480 shares in the company, valued at C$1,320,635.60. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. In the last three months, insiders sold 164,537 shares of company stock valued at $15,984,217. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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