Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,091,227 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 271,906 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.33% of Sun Life Financial worth $124,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 197,887 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in 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 valued at $427,712,000 after purchasing an additional 703,391 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $382,176,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $210,080,000 after purchasing an additional 812,689 shares during the period. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 2,974,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $176,273,000 after purchasing an additional 93,992 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.
Sun Life Financial Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $57.12 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.81. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.41 and a fifty-two week high of $62.85. The company has a market capitalization of $32.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87.
Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, analysts forecast 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.5876 dividend. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is 60.16%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have weighed in on SLF. StockNews.com downgraded Sun Life Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cormark upgraded Sun Life Financial from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
Check Out Our Latest Report on SLF
About Sun Life Financial
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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