Bessemer Group Inc. Purchases 49,418 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 236.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 70,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 49,418 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $4,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $244,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 15,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $870,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 7,838 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF stock opened at $65.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.92. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a one year low of $46.41 and a one year high of $66.56. The company's 50 day moving average price is $62.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.12.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.44 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 17.33%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a $0.6332 dividend. This represents a $2.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is currently 64.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on SLF shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

About Sun Life Financial

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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