Gold Investment Management Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $2,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 295.5% during the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,911,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,453,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427,815 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 28.2% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,837,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284,556 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 703,391 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 7.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 654,404 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,189,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,047,000 after purchasing an additional 257,178 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of SLF stock opened at $55.40 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $31.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.84. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.41 and a 52 week high of $62.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.5876 per share. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cormark upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About Sun Life Financial

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.