Private Advisor Group LLC Grows Stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 28.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,284,556 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $427,712,000 after acquiring an additional 703,391 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $537,288,000 after acquiring an additional 654,404 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,189,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,047,000 after buying an additional 257,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,123,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,550,000 after buying an additional 253,488 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $55.89 on Tuesday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.41 and a 52 week high of $62.85. The company’s 50 day moving average is $57.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.74. The company has a market cap of $32.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.5876 dividend. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLF has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cormark raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.