TD Asset Management Inc Decreases Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

TD Asset Management Inc cut its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,721,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 75,017 shares during the period. Sun Life Financial accounts for 0.8% of TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. TD Asset Management Inc owned about 2.82% of Sun Life Financial worth $944,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,422,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,691,568,000 after purchasing an additional 827,119 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $409,576,000 after buying an additional 377,204 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at about $362,886,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 19.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,625,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $312,065,000 after buying an additional 750,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 0.9% during the second quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 3,107,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $205,540,000 after acquiring an additional 26,599 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on SLF. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. National Bank Financial reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $64.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.99. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.44 and a 1 year high of $69.67.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $973.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 8.48%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.55%.

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.