Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Bought by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

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. boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 735,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 46,792 shares during the quarter. Sun Life Financial accounts for approximately 1.1% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. 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.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,595,092 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,407,626,000 after buying an additional 361,596 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 16,100,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $921,330,000 after purchasing an additional 374,682 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,454,589 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $562,121,000 after acquiring an additional 198,205 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 4.8% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 5,780,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $330,848,000 after purchasing an additional 266,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 7.1% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,957,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $283,792,000 after purchasing an additional 327,388 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank raised shares of Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

NYSE SLF traded up $0.1760 on Thursday, hitting $58.7360. The stock had a trading volume of 338,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 690,640. The business's fifty day moving average price is $62.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.78. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.44 and a 52-week high of $66.81. The stock has a market cap of $33.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 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 (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be issued a $0.6394 dividend. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 27th. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.