First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 7.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 708,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 48,105 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.13% of Sun Life Financial worth $42,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SLF. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $244,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 113.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 4,270 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $204,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 606,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,334,000 after purchasing an additional 15,671 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of SLF stock opened at $62.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $34.82 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.49. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.44 and a 52 week high of $69.67.

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

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 61.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Profile

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.