Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Key Points

• Vanguard raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in Q4, adding 534,772 shares to hold 25,884,084 shares—about a 4.67% ownership position valued at roughly $1.62 billion per its 13F filing.
• Sell-side analysts give Sun Life a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target price of $86.50 (breakdown: 1 Strong Buy, 5 Buy, 4 Hold, 1 Sell).
• Sun Life recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.92 (annualized $3.68), implying a 5.1% yield and a dividend payout ratio of about 61.36%.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,884,084 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 534,772 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 4.67% of Sun Life Financial worth $1,615,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $244,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 113.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 4,270 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $204,000. Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $232,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 66.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 2.3%

Sun Life Financial stock opened at $72.10 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.87. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.22 and a 12-month high of $72.12.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $973.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.76%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.36%.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.

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