JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Stock Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. $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 Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 164.5% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 53.2% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 665 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $55,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 4,657.1% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 999 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective 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. National Bank Financial downgraded Sun Life Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank upgraded Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays downgraded Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $58.58. 62,233 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 692,195. The company has a market cap of $32.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.45 and a 200-day moving average of $59.80. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.19 and a 12 month high of $66.81.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.34 billion. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 7.59%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is currently 62.87%.

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.