Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich Increases Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich raised its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 637.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 259,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 224,649 shares during the period. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $16,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $398,037,000. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 86.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,952,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,645,000 after buying an additional 1,834,772 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 5,991,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $373,984,000 after buying an additional 1,277,583 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 123.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,245,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $140,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,241 shares during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,893,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Monday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.67.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $79.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.06. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $56.22 and a 52-week high of $80.36.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $925.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.94%.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.