Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Grows Stock Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 403,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 31,000 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.07% of Sun Life Financial worth $24,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 184.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 62.8% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Tobam acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at $44,000. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 48.8% in the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 121.8% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $64.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $35.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $64.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.25. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.44 and a 12-month high of $69.67.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The company had revenue of $973.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.50.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.