JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 60,112 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 2.4%, owning over 2.5 million shares valued at approximately $145.9 million following the purchase of 60,112 additional shares.
• Sun Life Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6394, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend and signifying a dividend yield of 4.4%.
• Brokerages are mixed on Sun Life Financial, with ratings ranging from "hold" to "outperform," while the average price target for the stock is set at $88.00.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,548,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 60,112 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.45% of Sun Life Financial worth $145,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 164.5% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 619 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 53.2% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 665 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the first quarter worth about $55,000. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 4,657.1% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 999 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the first quarter worth about $109,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on SLF. National Bank Financial cut Sun Life Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Scotiabank raised Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays cut Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.2%

SLF opened at $58.06 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.98 and a 12-month high of $66.81. The stock has a market cap of $32.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day moving average of $62.72 and a 200-day moving average of $59.77.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 7.59%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be given a $0.6394 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 27th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is 63.12%.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SLF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.