Investment Research Partners LLC Acquires New Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Investment Research Partners LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $540,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 184.1% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SLF. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of SLF stock opened at $63.38 on Thursday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.44 and a 12-month high of $69.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $64.33 and its 200 day moving average is $61.66.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. The business 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 61.36%.

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.