BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Acquires 252,671 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,681,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 252,671 shares during the period. Sun Life Financial makes up approximately 0.8% of BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned about 0.46% of Sun Life Financial worth $131,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,241,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,268,543,000 after purchasing an additional 359,028 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 16,107,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $879,751,000 after buying an additional 442,197 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 10,216,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $500,492,000 after acquiring an additional 499,009 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,170,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $372,463,000 after acquiring an additional 464,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,991,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of SLF opened at $56.87 on Tuesday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.57 and a 1-year high of $57.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $52.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.63.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.47% and a net margin of 8.60%. On average, research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 4.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.587 per share. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 28th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.