Alberta Investment Management Corp Has $57.89 Million Stock Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Alberta Investment Management Corp decreased its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 927,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 174,900 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $57,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 10,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $634,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $241,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $268,000. Guardian Capital LP increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 467,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,227,000 after purchasing an additional 15,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 123.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,245,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $140,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240,241 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SLF shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Argus set a $81.00 price target on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.67.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $78.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.84 and a 200-day moving average of $66.16. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a one year low of $56.22 and a one year high of $78.98.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 EPS 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 company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $925.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.76 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 $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 72.94%.

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.