Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Acquired by Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 2.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 310,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,424 shares during the quarter. Sun Life Financial accounts for 2.0% of Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. owned 0.06% of Sun Life Financial worth $20,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 130.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 62.8% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Tobam bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 48.8% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SLF shares. Cibc Captl Mkts cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Scotiabank upgraded Sun Life Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, National Bank Financial cut Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $58.70 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.90. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.44 and a twelve month high of $66.81.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $944.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $944.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 7.59%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 26th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 69.41%.

Sun Life Financial Profile

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.