Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Shares Bought by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 242,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 43,119 shares during the quarter. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $14,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SLF. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cormark upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, 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. Two 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 6.4 %

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $54.53 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.41 and a twelve month high of $62.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.01.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 8.08%. Sell-side analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.5876 per share. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. 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.