Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Shares Bought by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 325 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,841,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,876,000 after purchasing an additional 34,072 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 10.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $878,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,189,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,047,000 after acquiring an additional 257,178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SLF opened at $56.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.94. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.41 and a 12-month high of $62.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.5876 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on SLF. StockNews.com lowered Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. Finally, Cormark raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial 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.