Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 58.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,467 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 62,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,635,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 47,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,843,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Five Oceans Advisors grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 3,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,291,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 124.9% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SLF. StockNews.com lowered Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. National Bank Financial raised Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Cormark raised Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:SLF opened at $56.02 on Thursday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.41 and a 1-year high of $62.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.32.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 8.08%. Equities analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.5876 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is presently 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.