Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Acquires 46,792 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. by 6.8% during the first quarter, owning 735,766 shares worth $42.1 million.
• Sun Life Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.6394 per share, representing a 4.4% yield and a payout ratio of 63.12%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Sun Life Financial, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $88.00.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 735,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 46,792 shares during the period. Sun Life Financial accounts for about 1.1% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned approximately 0.13% of Sun Life Financial worth $42,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.4% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,052 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 10,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 55,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,173,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on SLF. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, May 12th. National Bank Financial lowered Sun Life Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays lowered Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.8%

Sun Life Financial stock traded up $0.4960 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.2160. The stock had a trading volume of 210,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,180. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.44 and a 1 year high of $66.81. The stock's 50 day moving average is $62.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.79. The stock has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.6394 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 27th. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is 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.