Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Bought by Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas raised its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 83,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,600 shares during the quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas’ holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $5,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 184.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Argus set a $81.00 price target on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.67.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:SLF opened at $76.62 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.76. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.22 and a twelve month high of $77.01. The company has a market capitalization of $42.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 0.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $925.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 72.94%.

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.