National Bank of Canada FI Boosts Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,067,865 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 200,865 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 1.04% of Sun Life Financial worth $311,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intrust Bank NA increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,450 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 5,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 13,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 22,365 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,160,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 3.2% during the third quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

NYSE SLF traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $52.48. The stock had a trading volume of 387,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 574,018. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.57 and a 1 year high of $55.46. The stock has a market cap of $30.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $53.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.44.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.06. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.79% and a return on equity of 17.30%. The company had revenue of $13.73 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.581 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock.

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.