Argent Trust Co Grows Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Argent Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 38.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 15,665,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $816,424,000 after acquiring an additional 4,035,394 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 42.8% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 6,642,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $362,551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991,360 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 16.5% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,407,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $313,976,000 after buying an additional 905,679 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 423.9% during the second quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,017,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,909,000 after buying an additional 823,670 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 46.5% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,513,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,816,000 after buying an additional 797,901 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Argus raised Sun Life Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $56.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $57.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.65.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.47% and a net margin of 8.60%. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be given a $0.587 dividend. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 28th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 60.10%.

Sun Life Financial Profile

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.