Cetera Investment Advisers Raises Stock Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 21.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,161 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $3,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,454,589 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $562,121,000 after acquiring an additional 198,205 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,467,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $210,080,000 after acquiring an additional 812,689 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 2,974,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $176,273,000 after acquiring an additional 93,992 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,200,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,898,866 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $112,602,000 after acquiring an additional 313,176 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock traded down $0.35 on Tuesday, reaching $60.78. The stock had a trading volume of 748,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 734,820. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.78 and a 1 year high of $66.81. The company has a market cap of $34.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.90. The business's 50 day moving average is $63.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.78.

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, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.6332 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Sun Life Financial 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.