First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Raises Stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 29.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,280 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 6,244.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Tobam lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 57.6% during the second quarter. Tobam now owns 2,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF stock opened at $55.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $35.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.34. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a one year low of $46.41 and a one year high of $58.51.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 17.47%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were issued a dividend of $0.587 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barclays started coverage on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research 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.