Aviva PLC Sells 48,842 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Aviva PLC lowered its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 850,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 48,842 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.14% of Sun Life Financial worth $50,422,000 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. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,233,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,438,888,000 after purchasing an additional 197,887 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in 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 valued at $427,712,000 after buying an additional 703,391 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $382,176,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of 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 worth $338,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,467,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $210,080,000 after acquiring an additional 812,689 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company's stock.

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Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SLF traded up $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $55.27. The company had a trading volume of 166,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 687,906. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.41 and a fifty-two week high of $62.85. The firm has a market cap of $31.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. The business's fifty day moving average is $56.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.5876 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is 60.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SLF shares. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Cormark upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.