Bank of Nova Scotia Buys 878,031 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its Sun Life Financial stake by 14.7% in the first quarter, buying 878,031 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 6.87 million shares valued at about $430.2 million.
• Sun Life Financial has seen mixed analyst sentiment: the stock carries an average “Moderate Buy” rating with a $84.67 price target, though some firms recently downgraded the shares.
• The company reported solid results and raised its dividend, posting $1.38 EPS last quarter and increasing the quarterly payout to $0.96 per share, for an annualized yield of about 4.7%.

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,869,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 878,031 shares during the quarter. Sun Life Financial comprises approximately 0.7% of Bank of Nova Scotia's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 1.24% of Sun Life Financial worth $430,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the first quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 68.4% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the first quarter worth about $33,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on SLF. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Evercore cut shares of Sun Life Financial from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Argus set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.67.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of SLF stock opened at $81.46 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.22 and a twelve month high of $82.25. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $76.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 an increase from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.94%.

About Sun Life Financial

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.

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