Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 9.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,733,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 243,323 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $164,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $362,886,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth $87,660,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 882,070 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 3.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,422,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,691,568,000 after acquiring an additional 827,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 1,441.6% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 854,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,760,000 after acquiring an additional 799,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bank Financial reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:SLF opened at $66.36 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.44 and a 12-month high of $69.67. The firm has a market cap of $36.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average is $63.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.91.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $973.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 59.55%.

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.