Bank of Nova Scotia Buys 266,732 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Key Points

• The Bank of Nova Scotia increased its ownership in Sun Life Financial Inc. by 4.8%, acquiring an additional 266,732 shares, bringing its total holdings to 5,780,001 shares.
• Sun Life Financial recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.59 to $0.6332, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.53 and a yield of 4.2%.
• As of now, Sun Life Financial maintains a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts, with an average target price of $88.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,780,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 266,732 shares during the period. Sun Life Financial accounts for approximately 0.8% of Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 1.02% of Sun Life Financial worth $330,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2,071.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,350,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $80,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288,545 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 71.9% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,867,939 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $170,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,000 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1,002.9% during the 1st quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,120,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019,254 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $50,968,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,467,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $210,080,000 after purchasing an additional 812,689 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays cut shares of Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SLF traded up $1.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.84. 580,289 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 677,368. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.90. The business's fifty day moving average is $63.56 and its 200 day moving average is $59.78. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.83 and a fifty-two week high of $66.81.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.44 billion. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 7.47%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th were issued a $0.6332 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.89%.

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.