Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,889 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $3,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SLF. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the third quarter worth about $39,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 83.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $53.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.14 and a 200 day moving average of $51.52. The company has a market cap of $30.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.00. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.57 and a 12-month high of $55.46.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.73 billion during the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.79% and a return on equity of 17.30%. Equities research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a $0.581 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.79%.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc, a financial services company, provides savings, retirement, and pension products worldwide. The company operates in five segments: Asset Management, Canada, U.S., Asia, and Corporate. It offers various insurance products, such as term and permanent life; personal health, which includes prescription drugs, dental, and vision care; critical illness; long-term care; and disability, as well as reinsurance.