Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 796,172 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 101,631 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.13% of Sun Life Financial worth $47,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 703,391 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $382,176,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 812,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 2,974,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $176,273,000 after purchasing an additional 93,992 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. National Bank Financial raised Sun Life Financial from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Cormark raised Sun Life Financial from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE SLF traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $58.34. 235,594 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 683,983. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.83. The stock has a market cap of $33.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.41 and a 1 year high of $62.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.5876 per share. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is 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.