AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 26,801 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 137,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,801 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $8,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SLF. National Bank of Canada FI increased 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 worth $338,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284,556 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 7.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 654,404 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 257,178 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 253,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,654,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $156,127,000 after acquiring an additional 207,832 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. National Bank Financial raised Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:SLF opened at $55.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $34.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.03. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.41 and a twelve month high of $62.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.09.

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

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.5876 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 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.