OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Purchases New Shares in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Key Points

• OMERS Administration Corp bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the first quarter, acquiring 317,537 shares valued at about $19.8 million.
• Sun Life Financial reported Q1 earnings of $1.38 per share, topping analyst estimates, and the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.96 per share from $0.92.
• Analysts currently hold a Moderate Buy consensus on the stock, with a target price of $84.67, while the shares recently traded near their 12-month high.

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 317,537 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $19,830,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Sun Life Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLF. Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter worth $446,000. Cumberland Partners Ltd raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 3.2% in the first quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 6,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 2,187.4% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,601,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $100,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531,200 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 34.0% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 7,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,980 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 16.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 113,654 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,112,000 after buying an additional 16,376 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $82.19 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.22 and a twelve month high of $82.44. The stock has a market cap of $45.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18 and a beta of 0.88. The company's fifty day moving average is $76.88 and its 200 day moving average is $69.56.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $925.99 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is currently 72.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.67.

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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