Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Shares Sold by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC decreased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,400 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $4,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $427,712,000 after acquiring an additional 703,391 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,596,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,743,000 after buying an additional 15,908 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 295.5% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,911,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,453,000 after buying an additional 1,427,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $526,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $62.87 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $35.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.26. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.41 and a 12 month high of $63.39.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 EPS 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 business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.6332 per share. This represents a $2.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.