Alberta Investment Management Corp Cuts Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Alberta Investment Management Corp trimmed its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,257,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 317,875 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $74,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised 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 purchasing an additional 654,404 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,712,000 after buying an additional 703,391 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $301,047,000 after buying an additional 257,178 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.2% during 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 buying an additional 34,072 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $55.58 on Wednesday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.41 and a fifty-two week high of $62.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.33. The firm has a market cap of $34.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, analysts anticipate 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 paid 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 4.23%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on SLF. StockNews.com downgraded Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Cormark upgraded 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.