Motco Sells 1,255 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Motco lessened its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,255 shares during the quarter. Motco’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $5,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $963,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 62,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,635,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the third quarter worth $205,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 25,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 29.3% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 10,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,280 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLF has been the subject of a number of research reports. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Cormark raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:SLF opened at $54.73 on Friday. 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 $31.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $57.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.56.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.5876 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.16%.

About Sun Life Financial

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.