Achmea Investment Management B.V. Takes Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Achmea Investment Management B.V. bought a new position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 38,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,341,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SLF. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,157,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $409,576,000 after purchasing an additional 377,204 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 226.8% during the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,270,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,327,000 after purchasing an additional 882,070 shares during the last quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 28.7% in the third quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 356,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,427,000 after buying an additional 79,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 310,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,609,000 after buying an additional 6,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 117.7% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 372,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,386,000 after buying an additional 201,485 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SLF shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $63.38 on Thursday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.44 and a fifty-two week high of $69.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.66.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $973.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.36%.

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.