Investment Research Partners LLC Invests $540,000 in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Investment Research Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and 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 also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 16.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on SLF. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of SLF opened at $63.38 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $35.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $64.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.66. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.44 and a 52 week high of $69.67.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. The company 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.