Norges Bank Acquires New Stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 6,376,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $398,037,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.15% of Sun Life Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 68.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 184.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. LOM Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $64,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SLF. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Sun Life Financial stock opened at $71.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $68.63 and its 200-day moving average is $64.69. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.22 and a fifty-two week high of $74.16.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $925.99 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 17.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.74 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.68%.

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.