Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Purchased by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 1,342.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,675 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $3,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $244,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 113.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 4,270 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 66.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Argus set a $81.00 target price on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Evercore downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.67.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 2.2%

Sun Life Financial stock opened at $81.27 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $75.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.68. The firm has a market cap of $45.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95 and a beta of 0.88. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.22 and a 52 week high of $81.60.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $925.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.73 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.94%.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.