Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Increases Stock Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 183,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,700 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $11,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $244,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 4,270 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 30,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,023,000 after purchasing an additional 5,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 27.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of SLF opened at $68.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.88. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.44 and a 52 week high of $69.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $62.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.71.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $973.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.58% and a net margin of 8.48%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. National Bank Financial reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

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.