Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 12,381 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,272 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,381 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $12,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $244,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 16,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $957,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 43.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 2,210 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,596,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $94,743,000 after acquiring an additional 15,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,074,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays downgraded Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.2%

SLF stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $62.10. The company had a trading volume of 619,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 627,472. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.42. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.41 and a 12 month high of $66.81. The stock has a market cap of $35.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.91.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.6332 per share. 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 4.08%. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is presently 64.89%.

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.