Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec Buys Shares of 1,486,005 Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,486,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $116,628,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth $6,964,000. First Bancorp Inc ME acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $78,481,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $5,774,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SLF shares. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from $98.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Sun Life Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.33.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 1.2%

Sun Life Financial stock opened at $79.05 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.54. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.22 and a 52 week high of $84.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.48 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $10.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $994.33 million. On average, research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 26th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 66.12%.

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.