CIBC Asset Management Inc Buys 703,391 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 703,391 shares during the quarter. Sun Life Financial accounts for approximately 1.4% of CIBC Asset Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. CIBC Asset Management Inc owned approximately 1.25% of Sun Life Financial worth $427,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 62,589 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,635,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 47,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,843,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Five Oceans Advisors raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 3,875 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,478 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,291,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 124.9% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered 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 research 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:SLF traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $55.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 733,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 620,197. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $58.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.32. The stock has a market cap of $34.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.03. 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 - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 8.08%. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.5876 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.19%.

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.