Intact Investment Management Inc. Acquires 741,136 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Key Points

• Intact Investment Management boosted its stake in Sun Life by 58.3%, buying 741,136 shares to hold 2,012,083 shares (0.36% of the company) worth about $125.6 million, making SLF its third-largest position at 3.6% of Intact’s portfolio.
• Analysts have an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $86.50; the consensus breakdown is 1 Strong Buy, 5 Buy, 4 Hold and 1 Sell, and several firms recently issued upgrades or reiterations.
• Sun Life pays a quarterly dividend of $0.92 (annualized $3.68) for a 5.1% dividend yield

Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 58.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,012,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 741,136 shares during the quarter. Sun Life Financial makes up 3.6% of Intact Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Intact Investment Management Inc. owned 0.36% of Sun Life Financial worth $125,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SLF. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,884,084 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,615,788,000 after acquiring an additional 534,772 shares in the last quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the third quarter worth about $27,570,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.6% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,859,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $231,816,000 after acquiring an additional 371,139 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 9.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,733,974 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $164,120,000 after acquiring an additional 243,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,187,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $136,438,000 after acquiring an additional 215,811 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $72.36 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $40.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 0.91. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.22 and a fifty-two week high of $72.82. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $65.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.12.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $973.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 8.48%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is 61.36%.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.

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