Public Sector Pension Investment Board Cuts Stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lessened its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 527,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 327,740 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.09% of Sun Life Financial worth $31,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 8.7% in the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 183,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,025,000 after purchasing an additional 14,700 shares during the period. Plan A Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 8,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $306,000. MQS Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 8,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares during the period. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $551,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SLF. National Bank Financial reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:SLF opened at $68.96 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.44 and a 52-week high of $69.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.71. The company has a market capitalization of $38.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67 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, 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 net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.58%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.68%.

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.