Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Shares Purchased by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 137,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,314 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $6,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.8% during the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.2% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.3% during the first quarter. Burney Co. now owns 89,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,871,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.4% during the first quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 8,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.2% during the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 5,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SLF shares. Argus upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Barclays started coverage on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of SLF opened at $57.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $52.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.00. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.57 and a 52-week high of $57.55.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 17.47%. On average, equities analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be paid a $0.587 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.85%.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc, a financial services company, provides savings, retirement, and pension products worldwide. The company operates in five segments: Asset Management, Canada, U.S., Asia, and Corporate. It offers various insurance products, such as term and permanent life; personal health, which includes prescription drugs, dental, and vision care; critical illness; long-term care; and disability, as well as reinsurance.