4,083 Shares in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Acquired by Ballast Inc.

Ballast Inc. purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 23,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 13,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $150,000. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 5,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 83.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $54.58 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $53.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.88. The company has a market cap of $31.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.57 and a 1-year high of $55.46.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.73 billion during the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 7.79%. Analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a $0.581 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.79%.

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.