Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Shares Acquired by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SLF. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted 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 worth $537,288,000 after buying an additional 654,404 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,712,000 after acquiring an additional 703,391 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 28.2% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,837,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284,556 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,189,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,047,000 after purchasing an additional 257,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,841,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,876,000 after purchasing an additional 34,072 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLF has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Cormark upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given 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 Performance

NYSE SLF opened at $55.62 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.41 and a fifty-two week high of $62.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.5876 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.16%.

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.