Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Position Increased by Scotia Capital Inc.

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. lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,080,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 106,394 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Sun Life Financial worth $176,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 1.7% in the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 10,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $618,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 4.4% during the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 53.2% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 665 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 7.6% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SLF traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $61.24. The stock had a trading volume of 143,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 675,808. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.03 and a twelve month high of $66.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $63.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.80. The firm has a market cap of $34.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.90.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.44 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 17.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were paid a $0.6332 dividend. This represents a $2.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. 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. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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 report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays lowered Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial 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.