Intrust Bank NA Invests $220,000 in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Intrust Bank NA acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 522,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,933,000 after acquiring an additional 29,222 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 4.8% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 5,780,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,848,000 after purchasing an additional 266,732 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 4.3% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 24,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 2,729.4% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 33,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 32,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 0.8% during the second quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,138,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,705,000 after purchasing an additional 9,005 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF stock opened at $59.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $33.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.28 and its 200 day moving average is $61.35. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.44 and a 52 week high of $66.81.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 17.21%. The business had revenue of $944.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SLF shares. TD Securities raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 target price on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Cibc Captl Mkts downgraded Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc, a financial services company, provides savings, retirement, and pension products worldwide. The company operates in five segments: Asset Management, Canada, U.S., Asia, and Corporate. It offers various insurance products, such as term and permanent life; personal health, which includes prescription drugs, dental, and vision care; critical illness; long-term care; and disability, as well as reinsurance.