Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Shares Bought by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 38.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 15,665,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $816,424,000 after purchasing an additional 4,035,394 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 42.8% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 6,642,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $362,551,000 after buying an additional 1,991,360 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,407,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $313,976,000 after buying an additional 905,679 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 423.9% in the 2nd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,017,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,909,000 after buying an additional 823,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,513,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,816,000 after acquiring an additional 797,901 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SLF. Barclays began coverage on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Argus upgraded Sun Life Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $56.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.00. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.57 and a 52-week high of $57.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.65.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 17.47%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be paid a $0.587 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 60.10%.

About Sun Life Financial

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.