Aviso Financial Inc. Purchases 16,182 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Aviso Financial Inc. raised its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 14.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 130,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,182 shares during the quarter. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $8,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SLF. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 130.6% in the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Tobam bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 48.8% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. TD Securities upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group started coverage on Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF stock opened at $59.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.32. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.44 and a fifty-two week high of $66.81. The firm has a market cap of $32.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 17.21%. The company had revenue of $944.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be given a $0.92 dividend. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 69.41%.

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.