JFS Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 838 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 432.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $61,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,837,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284,556 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 7.6% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,256,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $537,288,000 after acquiring an additional 654,404 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 5.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,189,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,047,000 after acquiring an additional 257,178 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,123,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,550,000 after acquiring an additional 253,488 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 8.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,654,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $156,127,000 after purchasing an additional 207,832 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of SLF opened at $55.58 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.28. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.41 and a 52 week high of $62.85. The stock has a market cap of $34.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.03.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 17.44%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.5876 per share. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLF has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.