Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. Invests $76,000 in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $76,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SLF. Canoe Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 7,959.7% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 45,648,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,367,326,000 after purchasing an additional 45,082,012 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,882,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,186,706,000 after acquiring an additional 410,759 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew 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 worth $816,424,000 after acquiring an additional 4,035,394 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 9,725,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $504,371,000 after acquiring an additional 673,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF stock traded up $0.24 on Tuesday, reaching $48.96. 300,705 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 751,647. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.57 and a 12-month high of $55.46. The company has a market capitalization of $28.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $50.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.73.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.25 billion. Research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 29th were given a $0.588 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.80%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 60.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, 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.