Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 431,418 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 32.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,775,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 431,418 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $86,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 630,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,474,000 after buying an additional 23,235 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 349,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,102,000 after buying an additional 47,755 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,620,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,055,000 after buying an additional 275,334 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 108.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 64,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,506,000 after buying an additional 33,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,504,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF opened at $57.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $33.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.64. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.57 and a 1 year high of $57.88.

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

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be given 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 4.08%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 60.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on SLF. Argus raised Sun Life Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Barclays began coverage on Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company.

Sun Life Financial 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.