Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Acquired by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,529,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 347,041 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.00% of Sun Life Financial worth $353,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SLF. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 68.4% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 184.1% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 38.6% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. LOM Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SLF opened at $71.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32 and a beta of 0.91. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.22 and a 1 year high of $74.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $68.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.69.

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

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. National Bank Financial raised Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.