FIL Ltd Sells 1,521,247 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

FIL Ltd lowered its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 67.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 741,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,521,247 shares during the period. FIL Ltd owned 0.12% of Sun Life Financial worth $44,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Unigestion Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 242,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,360,000 after buying an additional 43,119 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $246,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,467,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $210,080,000 after purchasing an additional 812,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 283,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,807,000 after purchasing an additional 40,997 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

SLF traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.50. The stock had a trading volume of 188,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 681,018. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.41 and a 1-year high of $62.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $56.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.87.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.5876 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.16%.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.