Wellington Management Group LLP Purchases 1,288,545 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 2,071.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,350,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,288,545 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.22% of Sun Life Financial worth $80,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,233,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,438,888,000 after purchasing an additional 197,887 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,454,589 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $562,121,000 after acquiring an additional 198,205 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $427,712,000 after acquiring an additional 703,391 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $382,176,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,467,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $210,080,000 after acquiring an additional 812,689 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE SLF traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $64.59. 1,476,278 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 648,738. The company has a market capitalization of $36.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.41 and a 52-week high of $65.11. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $59.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.62.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.44 billion. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 8.08%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.6332 per share. This represents a $2.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Cormark raised Sun Life Financial from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Sun Life Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.