Legal & General Group Plc Buys 36,698 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its Sun Life Financial stake by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, buying 36,698 shares and bringing its total holding to 3,896,312 shares valued at about $243.5 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with several large investors including Vanguard, Scotia Capital, JPMorgan Chase, TD Waterhouse, and Intact Investment Management also adding to their positions. Overall, 52.26% of Sun Life Financial shares are owned by institutions.
• Sun Life Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.38 per share and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.96 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 5.3%. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $86.50.

Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,896,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 36,698 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.70% of Sun Life Financial worth $243,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SLF. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,884,084 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,615,788,000 after purchasing an additional 534,772 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 3,303,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $197,709,000 after purchasing an additional 196,675 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,733,974 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $164,120,000 after purchasing an additional 243,323 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,187,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $136,438,000 after purchasing an additional 215,811 shares during the period. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 58.3% in the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,012,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $125,598,000 after purchasing an additional 741,136 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:SLF opened at $72.59 on Thursday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.22 and a twelve month high of $74.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.40. The company has a market cap of $40.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71 and a beta of 0.91.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $925.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.74 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 Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is currently 69.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial 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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