5,092 Shares in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Acquired by Focus Partners Wealth

Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,092 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 949,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,321,000 after purchasing an additional 60,062 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $623,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $570,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cormark raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sun Life Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Sun Life Financial stock traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $64.32. 88,229 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 663,851. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.41 and a 12-month high of $64.38. The company has a market capitalization of $36.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $58.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.49.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 8.08%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.6332 per share. This represents a $2.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.09%.

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.