Korea Investment CORP Acquires 57,863 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 13.6% in Q1, now holding 484,568 shares valued at $27.7 million.
• Sun Life Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6394 per share, representing a 4.4% yield, an increase from the previous $0.63 dividend.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Sun Life Financial, with two ratings as "Buy," two as "Hold," and one as "Sell," while the stock has a consensus target price of $88.00.

Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 13.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 484,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 57,863 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.09% of Sun Life Financial worth $27,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLF. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter worth $244,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter worth $4,074,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,286 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 2,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 40,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SLF shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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. National Bank Financial cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLF traded down $0.7640 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $58.1460. The company had a trading volume of 114,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 686,483. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $61.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.82. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.44 and a 12 month high of $66.81. The firm has a market cap of $32.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.34 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 17.21%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders 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. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 27th. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is 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.