M&T Bank Corp Buys 37,539 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 126.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 67,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 37,539 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $4,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 356,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,427,000 after buying an additional 79,500 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 226.8% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,270,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,327,000 after buying an additional 882,070 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 117.7% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 372,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,386,000 after buying an additional 201,485 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 9.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,733,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,120,000 after acquiring an additional 243,323 shares during the period. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,341,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF opened at $71.57 on Monday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.22 and a 1-year high of $72.06. The company has a market capitalization of $39.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.86.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $973.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 61.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to 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 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.