Public Sector Pension Investment Board Reduces Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Public Sector Pension Investment Board reduced its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 527,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 327,740 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $31,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 130.6% in the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 184.1% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 62.8% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Tobam acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 48.8% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $68.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.82 and a 200-day moving average of $60.71. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.44 and a 52-week high of $69.67.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.58% and a net margin of 8.48%.The firm had revenue of $973.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 69.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SLF shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.