TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Grows Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,187,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 215,811 shares during the quarter. Sun Life Financial makes up approximately 0.8% of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $136,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SLF. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. LOM Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on SLF shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $70.28 on Monday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $56.08 and a 52-week high of $70.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $64.87 and a 200-day moving average of $62.51.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $973.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 61.36%.

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.