Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Purchases 10,177 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. boosted its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 63,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,177 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $3,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 62.8% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 184.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Tobam bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 48.8% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.3%

SLF stock opened at $65.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.13. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.44 and a 12 month high of $69.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $973.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 60.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SLF shares. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

About Sun Life Financial

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.