Aviva PLC Has $50.42 Million Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Aviva PLC trimmed its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 850,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 48,842 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.14% of Sun Life Financial worth $50,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 28,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 47,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,843,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Five Oceans Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 3,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on SLF. Cormark raised Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $54.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $31.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $56.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.01. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.5876 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.31%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 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.