Van ECK Associates Corp Has $3.58 Million Stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,889 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $3,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 8.6% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 62,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,052,000 after purchasing an additional 4,963 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 14,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 1,713 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 34,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,700,000 after buying an additional 8,103 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 790,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,577,000 after acquiring an additional 35,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 21.8% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

Sun Life Financial stock opened at $53.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $53.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.52. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.57 and a twelve month high of $55.46.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.06. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 7.79%. The business had revenue of $13.73 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.581 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 59.79%.

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.