Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Increases Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 366,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,100 shares during the period. Sun Life Financial makes up 2.1% of Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $22,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,884,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,615,788,000 after acquiring an additional 534,772 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,896,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,542,000 after acquiring an additional 36,698 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 3,303,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $197,709,000 after acquiring an additional 196,675 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,733,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,120,000 after acquiring an additional 243,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,187,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,438,000 after acquiring an additional 215,811 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF stock opened at $73.10 on Monday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.22 and a 1 year high of $74.16. The firm has a market cap of $44.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.15.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.The company had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $925.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.59%.

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.