RIA Advisory Group LLC Makes New $39,000 Investment in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $39,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 11,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 1.4% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $858,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 9.6% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 3,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 1.1% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 24,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 5.2% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

SLF stock opened at $51.11 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.57 and a twelve month high of $55.46. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.21. The firm has a market cap of $29.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.01.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.06. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 7.79%. The firm had revenue of $13.73 billion during the quarter. Research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.581 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.79%.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc, a financial services company, provides savings, retirement, and pension products worldwide. The company operates in five segments: Asset Management, Canada, U.S., Asia, and Corporate. It offers various insurance products, such as term and permanent life; personal health, which includes prescription drugs, dental, and vision care; critical illness; long-term care; and disability, as well as reinsurance.