1,001,122 Shares in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Bought by Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,001,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $78,481,000. Sun Life Financial makes up approximately 1.3% of Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at about $2,888,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 58.3% during the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,012,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $125,598,000 after acquiring an additional 741,136 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1,342.4% in the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 50,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,141,000 after purchasing an additional 46,675 shares during the period. JCP Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter worth $798,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the second quarter valued at about $544,052,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Sun Life Financial stock opened at $79.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 0.88. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.22 and a 1 year high of $84.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $80.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.44.

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

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be given a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SLF shares. Evercore lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.33.

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.