The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires 198,205 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,454,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 198,205 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $562,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,233,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,438,888,000 after purchasing an additional 197,887 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings 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 worth $427,712,000 after acquiring an additional 703,391 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $382,176,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 30.6% in 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. boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 2,974,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,273,000 after purchasing an additional 93,992 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on SLF. StockNews.com downgraded Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Cormark raised 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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE SLF opened at $58.34 on Monday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.41 and a 52 week high of $62.85. The company has a market capitalization of $33.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.84.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (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 net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. Research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.5876 dividend. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 60.16%.

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.