Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Stock Holdings Decreased by Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lowered its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,653,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 33,059 shares during the quarter. Sun Life Financial makes up about 3.0% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned about 0.42% of Sun Life Financial worth $157,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,295,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 43.3% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 7,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 2,395 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $302,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 949,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,321,000 after acquiring an additional 60,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $623,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SLF. Cormark raised Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. 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 upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF opened at $62.01 on Monday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.41 and a twelve month high of $63.34. The firm has a market cap of $35.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $56.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.04.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.6332 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 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.