Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Acquires Shares of 459,276 Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 459,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,570,000. Sun Life Financial makes up approximately 1.5% of Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,157,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $409,576,000 after buying an additional 377,204 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 41.1% in the second quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 61,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,069,000 after buying an additional 17,799 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 226.8% during the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,270,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,327,000 after buying an additional 882,070 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 310,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,609,000 after buying an additional 6,424 shares during the period. Finally, Nicola Wealth Management LTD. increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 28.7% during the third quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 356,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,427,000 after acquiring an additional 79,500 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SLF shares. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated 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 issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF opened at $63.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.28 and a 200 day moving average of $61.46. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.44 and a 1-year high of $69.67.

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

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.36%.

Sun Life Financial Profile

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.