Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 5.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 172,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,935 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $8,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLF. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $357,664,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 57.0% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,846,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,789,000 after buying an additional 1,759,167 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,243,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $588,153,000 after buying an additional 1,301,394 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 13.6% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,044,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,421,000 after buying an additional 845,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Investments Inc. increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. AGF Investments Inc. now owns 1,692,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,271,000 after buying an additional 575,293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.29% of the company’s stock.
Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $53.13 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $53.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.81. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.05 and a fifty-two week high of $55.07. The company has a market cap of $31.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.06.
Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 8.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter. Research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 26th will be given a $0.4487 dividend. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 25th. This represents a $1.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.76%.
A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SLF shares. Zacks Investment Research lowered Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Sun Life Financial from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 12th. CIBC increased their price target on Sun Life Financial from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 7th. Canaccord Genuity increased their price target on Sun Life Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 28th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group increased their price target on Sun Life Financial from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.10.
About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, wealth, and asset management solutions to individuals and corporate clients worldwide. It offers term and permanent life, as well as health, dental, critical illness, long-term care, and disability insurance products. The company also provides reinsurance products; investment counselling and portfolio management services; mutual funds and segregated funds; trust and banking services; real estate property brokerage and appraisal services; and merchant banking services.
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