Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Buys New Stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,735,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $292,980,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $244,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 113.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 4,270 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $232,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 66.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SLF. Argus set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from $98.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.33.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 1.1%

SLF stock opened at $79.94 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $80.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.44. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.22 and a 52-week high of $84.38. The company has a market capitalization of $44.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.07. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 7.66%.The company had revenue of $10.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $994.33 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.72 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 66.12%.

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.