Fiera Capital Corp Has $42.29 Million Stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Fiera Capital Corp reduced its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 677,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 76,671 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp owned approximately 0.12% of Sun Life Financial worth $42,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,884,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,615,788,000 after buying an additional 534,772 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $398,037,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,529,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $353,181,000 after acquiring an additional 347,041 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,896,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,542,000 after acquiring an additional 36,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 3,303,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $197,709,000 after acquiring an additional 196,675 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $73.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 0.90. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.22 and a 1 year high of $74.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $69.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.18.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $925.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. National Bank Financial raised Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.