Cerity Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,867 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,948 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $1,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,841,712 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $164,876,000 after purchasing an additional 34,072 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.8% during the fourth 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 during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $878,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,596,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $94,743,000 after purchasing an additional 15,908 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of SLF stock traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $57.30. 111,337 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 680,950. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.82. The firm has a market cap of $32.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.41 and a fifty-two week high of $62.85.

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 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, equities 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.5876 dividend. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cormark raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Sun Life Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.