Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Bought by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 301.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,961 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth $244,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,270 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $204,000. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $232,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of SLF stock opened at $70.79 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.61. The stock has a market cap of $39.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25 and a beta of 0.91. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.22 and a twelve month high of $74.16.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $925.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.74 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SLF shares. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” 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.