FreeGulliver LLC Purchases New Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

FreeGulliver LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $352,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SLF. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 295.5% in the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,911,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,453,000 after buying an additional 1,427,815 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 28.2% in 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 last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position 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 worth $427,712,000 after purchasing an additional 703,391 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of 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. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position 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 worth $301,047,000 after purchasing an additional 257,178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SLF shares. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Cormark upgraded shares of 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 investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $56.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $35.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.87. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a one year low of $46.41 and a one year high of $62.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued 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 net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. As a group, analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.5876 per share. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 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.