Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Purchased by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 347.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $124,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth $223,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 83,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,542,000 after acquiring an additional 13,172 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,613 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $240,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 15,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,707 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Sun Life Financial stock opened at $58.54 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.36. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.44 and a 1 year high of $66.81. The company has a market capitalization of $32.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $944.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 17.21%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.33 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SLF shares. TD Securities raised Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Argus raised shares of Sun Life Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

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.