Creative Planning Has $2.82 Million Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $2,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6,244.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 562 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $76,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE SLF opened at $56.40 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.57 and a 12-month high of $58.51. The company has a market capitalization of $32.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $56.13 and its 200-day moving average is $52.17.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 17.47%. The business had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.587 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock.

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.