Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Bought by Cardinal Capital Management Inc.

Cardinal Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,176,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,497 shares during the period. Sun Life Financial makes up about 2.1% of Cardinal Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.21% of Sun Life Financial worth $91,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Fortress Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $522,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 7.4% in the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 11,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.6% in the third quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 10,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.8% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 1.1%

SLF stock opened at $79.40 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.22 and a twelve month high of $84.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.22.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.07. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 17.96%. The firm had revenue of $10.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.33 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.77 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th were paid a C$0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SLF. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from $98.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Evercore downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.50.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc is a Canadian financial services company that provides insurance, wealth, and asset management products to individuals, businesses, and institutions. The company serves clients through operations in Canada, the United States, and several markets in Asia.

Its insurance offerings include life, health, dental, disability, long-term care, and critical illness coverage, as well as annuities and employee benefits. Sun Life also provides retirement savings and investment products, including mutual funds and other wealth solutions for individuals and workplace plan members.

Through its asset management businesses, Sun Life manages investments for institutional and retail clients across a range of asset classes.