Sun Life Financial (TSX:SLF) has announced that it is increasing its stock dividend by 20% after the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) relaxed the capital requirements imposed on Canada’s banks and insurers.
The insurance and asset management company said that it's adding an 11-cent-per-share supplementary dividend to its quarterly payments that are scheduled to take place next on December 31.
Combined with its regular quarterly payout of 55 cents per share, the total dividend will be 20% higher than the previous quarterly payment.
Sun Life can raise its dividend after OSFI ended last week its prohibition on dividend increases and share buybacks that had been imposed during the pandemic.
Sun Life’s board of directors held a special meeting over the weekend to approve the dividend increase, which brings the dividend back to the company’s target payout ratio of 40% to 50%.
