Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 600 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Shell Asset Management Co. trimmed its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $1,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,403,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 10.8% in 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 buying an additional 703,391 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,596,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,743,000 after buying an additional 15,908 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its position 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 worth $113,453,000 after buying an additional 1,427,815 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $526,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on SLF. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Cormark raised Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com lowered Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $62.87 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.41 and a 1-year high of $63.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average is $57.70 and its 200-day moving average is $58.24.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 8.08%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a $0.6332 dividend. This represents a $2.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 62.09%.

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.