Purpose Unlimited Inc. Invests $13.18 Million in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 211,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,182,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, LOM Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus set a $81.00 price objective on Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.67.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF stock opened at $78.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 0.89. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.22 and a 1 year high of $78.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.25.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $925.99 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.76 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 72.94%.

About Sun Life Financial

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.