Westerkirk Capital Inc. Sells 14,600 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Westerkirk Capital Inc. lessened its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 46.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 16,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,600 shares during the period. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $1,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $398,037,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 58.3% in the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,012,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $125,598,000 after buying an additional 741,136 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,884,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,615,788,000 after buying an additional 534,772 shares in the last quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,570,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,859,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,816,000 after buying an additional 371,139 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. National Bank Financial raised Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF opened at $73.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 0.90. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $56.22 and a 52-week high of $74.44. The business’s fifty day moving average is $69.66 and its 200-day moving average is $65.18.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $925.99 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 72.94%.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.