AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Increases Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 13.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,802 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $8,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3,230.7% during the 1st quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 352,150 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,152,000 after purchasing an additional 341,577 shares during the period. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 46.2% during the first quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 70,030 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,007,000 after purchasing an additional 22,130 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 14.5% during the first quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 6,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 41.5% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 12,540 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 3,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the first quarter valued at $395,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.1%

SLF stock opened at $62.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $63.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.52. The company has a market cap of $35.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.91. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.41 and a 12-month high of $66.81.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th were paid a $0.6332 dividend. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is 64.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays downgraded Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.

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