Citigroup Inc. Buys 201,485 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 117.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 372,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 201,485 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $22,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 6.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,157,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $409,576,000 after purchasing an additional 377,204 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 41.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 61,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,069,000 after acquiring an additional 17,799 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 226.8% during the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,270,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,327,000 after acquiring an additional 882,070 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 310,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,609,000 after acquiring an additional 6,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicola Wealth Management LTD. grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 28.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 79,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SLF. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. National Bank Financial reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF opened at $65.37 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $63.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.05. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.44 and a fifty-two week high of $69.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $973.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 60.91%.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.