Korea Investment CORP Has $33.08 Million Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 550,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 85,356 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $33,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,117,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 7.3% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 708,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,561,000 after purchasing an additional 48,105 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Capital LP increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 44.2% in the third quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 452,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,156,000 after purchasing an additional 138,548 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 7.8% in the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 18,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after buying an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,639,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,426,000 after buying an additional 23,102 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 2.2%

NYSE SLF opened at $63.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $35.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.87. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.44 and a 52 week high of $69.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.43.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its earnings results 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. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 8.48%.The company had revenue of $973.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.53 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on SLF. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.50.

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.