Cumberland Partners Ltd Boosts Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners Ltd has significantly increased its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. by 167.8%, acquiring an additional 19,370 shares, bringing its total holdings to 30,916 shares valued at approximately $1.77 million.
• Sun Life Financial reported strong performance with an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.27 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.22, and generated revenue of $7.91 billion against a forecast of $6.44 billion.
• The company has recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.59 to $0.6332, yielding 4.2%, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Cumberland Partners Ltd increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 167.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 19,370 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $1,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $244,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 18,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,110,000 after buying an additional 2,429 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 120.8% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 93,857 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,569,000 after buying an additional 51,351 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 182.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 8,380 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SLF. BMO Capital Markets reiterated 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price 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. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of SLF stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.38. The stock had a trading volume of 611,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 769,429. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $63.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.76. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.41 and a 12 month high of $66.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were given a $0.6332 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 28th. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.