MidFirst Bank Buys Shares of 30,489 Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

MidFirst Bank bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 30,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,903,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,884,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,615,788,000 after acquiring an additional 534,772 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $398,037,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 5,991,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $373,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277,583 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,529,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $353,181,000 after purchasing an additional 347,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 86.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,952,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834,772 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.67.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE SLF opened at $78.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $71.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.16. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.22 and a 12 month high of $78.98.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $925.99 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 72.94%.

Sun Life Financial Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.