Guardian Capital LP Acquires 138,548 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Guardian Capital LP raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 452,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 138,548 shares during the period. Guardian Capital LP’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $27,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Tobam acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at $44,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 48.8% in the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of SLF opened at $64.90 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.36. 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 $35.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is presently 61.36%.

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.