Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 374 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 374 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $2,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 7.6% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 34.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake 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 valued at $427,712,000 after purchasing an additional 703,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $878,000. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Cormark raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $56.23 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.41 and a 1 year high of $62.85. The stock has a market cap of $35.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.80 and a 200 day moving average of $57.86.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. Research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.16%.

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.