Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lowered its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 0.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,748,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,165 shares during the quarter. Sun Life Financial accounts for approximately 3.5% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $182,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SLF. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 130.6% during the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 164.5% in the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 62.8% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Tobam acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 48.8% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SLF. Argus upgraded Sun Life Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. UBS Group began coverage on Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. TD Securities raised Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Sun Life Financial stock opened at $59.22 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $60.25 and its 200 day moving average is $61.35. The firm has a market cap of $33.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.90. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a one year low of $52.44 and a one year high of $66.81.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 17.21%. The business had revenue of $944.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.41%.

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.