Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Stock Position Decreased by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 106,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 47,444 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $6,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 130.6% in the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 62.8% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Tobam bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter worth $44,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 48.8% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 121.8% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $63.78 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.44 and a 1 year high of $66.81. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.47. The company has a market cap of $35.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96 and a beta of 0.87.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 16.93%. The firm had revenue of $944.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Monday, November 10th. UBS Group started coverage on Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. TD Securities raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

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.