DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Grows Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,059,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,107 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.18% of Sun Life Financial worth $57,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

NYSE SLF traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.04. 1,956,396 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 373,603. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.57 and a 52 week high of $55.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.47. The company has a market cap of $27.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.99.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.09). Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.94% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.25 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.588 per share. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 29th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 60.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Argus raised shares of Sun Life Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.