HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 365 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $1,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew 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 purchasing an additional 703,391 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,284,556 shares in 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 valued at $301,047,000 after buying an additional 257,178 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,841,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,876,000 after buying an additional 34,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 8.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,654,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $156,127,000 after acquiring an additional 207,832 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SLF opened at $57.16 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.77 and a 200 day moving average of $57.93. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.41 and a 1-year high of $62.85.

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

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.5876 dividend. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 60.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on SLF shares. National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Cormark upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial has an average 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.