6,919 Shares in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Acquired by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $543,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 68.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the first quarter worth about $33,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on SLF shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from $98.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Argus set a $81.00 target price on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.33.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $79.09 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.49 and a beta of 0.88. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.22 and a 52-week high of $84.38.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.07. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 7.66%.The business had revenue of $10.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.33 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.12%.

Sun Life Financial 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.