Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Acquires 4,703 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Key Points

• The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. by 12.2% in the 1st quarter, holding 43,314 shares valued at approximately $2.48 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for Sun Life Financial, with one sell rating, two hold ratings, and three buy ratings, and an average price target of $88.00.
• Sun Life Financial's recent quarterly earnings report showed a growth in earnings per share to $1.27, surpassing analyst expectations and contributing to a revenue of $7.91 billion.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,703 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $2,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 19.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 4.3% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 24,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,425,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 266,732 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5,676.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 32,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 32,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 39.4% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,628 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 3,006 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLF has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays lowered Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank raised shares of Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLF traded up $0.56 on Tuesday, hitting $57.44. The stock had a trading volume of 180,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 682,993. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.35 and a twelve month high of $66.81. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $63.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.81. The company has a market capitalization of $32.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last issued 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. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.34 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 17.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be paid a $0.6394 dividend. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is 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.