CX Institutional Purchases Shares of 1,899 Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $109,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SLF. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,129,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,651,000 after buying an additional 5,785 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 44.2% during the 1st quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 349,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,990,000 after acquiring an additional 107,109 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $200,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 5,676.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 32,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 32,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 5,413.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 4,980 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF opened at $64.67 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.90. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.41 and a 1 year high of $65.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.92.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.44 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a $0.6332 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

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.