Aigen Investment Management LP Raises Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP increased its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. by 141.5%, now holding 22,222 shares worth approximately $1.27 million.
• Sun Life Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6394, reflecting an annualized rate of $2.56 and a yield of 4.5%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Sun Life Financial, with one sell rating, two hold ratings, and three buy ratings, while the stock's consensus price target is $88.00.

Aigen Investment Management LP grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 141.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,022 shares during the quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP's holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $1,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SLF. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2,071.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,350,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $80,160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288,545 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 71.9% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,867,939 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $170,068,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,000 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1,002.9% in the 1st quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,120,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019,254 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,968,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.4% in 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Sun Life Financial stock traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.61. 541,243 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 831,599. 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 simple moving average is $63.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.79. The firm has a market cap of $32.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 7.59%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $0.6394 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.87%.

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.