Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Bought by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 25.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,864,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 378,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $116,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, LOM Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 1.3%

Sun Life Financial stock opened at $80.68 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.06 and a 200-day moving average of $69.08. The stock has a market cap of $44.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 0.88. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.22 and a 52 week high of $82.25.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $925.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a $0.96 dividend. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 72.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLF has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore lowered Sun Life Financial from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.67.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.