Forsta AP Fonden Increases Stock Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Forsta AP Fonden lifted its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 301,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,500 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden owned about 0.05% of Sun Life Financial worth $16,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 7,959.7% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 45,648,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,367,326,000 after acquiring an additional 45,082,012 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $335,757,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 34.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 171.3% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,172,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,081,000 after purchasing an additional 740,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 91.7% during the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,535,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,620,000 after purchasing an additional 734,549 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLF traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.28. 306,118 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 549,604. The company has a market cap of $29.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.99. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.57 and a 1 year high of $55.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.63.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.09). Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.94% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.25 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.588 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Argus raised shares of Sun Life Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.