Van ECK Associates Corp Decreases Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,178 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $7,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,837,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284,556 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,256,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $537,288,000 after purchasing an additional 654,404 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,189,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,047,000 after purchasing an additional 257,178 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,123,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,550,000 after purchasing an additional 253,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,654,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $156,127,000 after purchasing an additional 207,832 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $55.17 on Tuesday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.41 and a 52-week high of $62.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $58.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.23. The company has a market capitalization of $34.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.03.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 17.44%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.5876 per share. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.46%.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc, a financial services company, provides savings, retirement, and pension products worldwide. The company operates in five segments: Asset Management, Canada, U.S., Asia, and Corporate. It offers various insurance products, such as term and permanent life; personal health, which includes prescription drugs, dental, and vision care; critical illness; long-term care; and disability, as well as reinsurance.