Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 23.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,668,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,098,286 shares during the period. Sun Life Financial accounts for about 0.7% of Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.66% of Sun Life Financial worth $220,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 113.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 4,270 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth $204,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 12.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 606,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,334,000 after purchasing an additional 15,671 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $63.56 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $35.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.87. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.44 and a 52 week high of $69.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.48.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.06. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 8.48%.The firm had revenue of $973.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 61.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SLF. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.