Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Bought by Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,208,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,219 shares during the quarter. Sun Life Financial comprises 3.3% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $200,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,884,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,615,788,000 after buying an additional 534,772 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $398,037,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,529,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $353,181,000 after buying an additional 347,041 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,896,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,542,000 after buying an additional 36,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.3% in the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 3,303,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $197,709,000 after buying an additional 196,675 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $73.93 on Wednesday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.22 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.29. The firm has a market cap of $40.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05 and a beta of 0.89.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $925.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 72.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, May 8th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.