FreeGulliver LLC Takes Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

FreeGulliver LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $352,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SLF. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 28,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,693,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 47,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,843,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Five Oceans Advisors raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 3,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Cormark raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:SLF opened at $56.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.87. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.41 and a 12 month high of $62.85.

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

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.5876 per share. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

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.