CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Buys 8,380 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 182.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,380 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,233,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,438,888,000 after purchasing an additional 197,887 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 703,391 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $382,176,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 28.2% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,837,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,621,000 after buying an additional 1,284,556 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 1.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,841,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,876,000 after buying an additional 34,072 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF stock opened at $54.53 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a one year low of $46.41 and a one year high of $62.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.00. The company 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.

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

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cormark raised Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.