Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Shares Bought by Advisory Resource Group

Advisory Resource Group lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. Advisory Resource Group’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $1,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $382,176,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 295.5% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,911,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,815 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2,071.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,350,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288,545 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,867,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $170,068,000 after buying an additional 1,200,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,467,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,080,000 after acquiring an additional 812,689 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on SLF. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:SLF opened at $64.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.97. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.41 and a twelve month high of $65.56.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.44 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 17.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.6332 per share. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.89%.

Sun Life Financial Profile

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.