Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Bought by Sienna Gestion

Sienna Gestion boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 186,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,500 shares during the quarter. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $11,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 130.6% during the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 164.5% during the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 36.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $55,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. National Bank Financial lowered Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Securities upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Scotiabank upgraded Sun Life Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price target on Sun Life Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of SLF opened at $61.65 on Thursday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.44 and a 52 week high of $66.81. The company has a market capitalization of $34.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $60.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.31.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 7.59%.The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 26th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 62.87%.

Sun Life Financial 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.