MQS Management LLC Takes Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,891 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $395,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth $244,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,074,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 18,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 1,415 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on SLF. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $62.10 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $63.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.42. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.41 and a 12 month high of $66.81. The company has a market cap of $35.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.91.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.44 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 17.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.6332 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is currently 64.89%.

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.

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