Scotia Capital Inc. Has $176.04 Million Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. by 3.6% in Q1, now owning approximately 3.08 million shares valued at $176.04 million.
• Sun Life Financial reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.27, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.22, and posted a significant revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter.
• The company recently announced a dividend increase to $0.6332 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.53 and a yield of 4.2%.

Scotia Capital Inc. raised its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,080,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 106,394 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. owned about 0.54% of Sun Life Financial worth $176,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 164.5% in the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 619 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 53.2% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 665 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $55,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 4,657.1% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 999 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $109,000. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF opened at $60.38 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.41 and a twelve month high of $66.81. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $63.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.76. The firm has a market cap of $34.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.91.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 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 Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were paid a $0.6332 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is presently 64.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered shares of 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 research note on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank raised shares of Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $88.00.

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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