TD Asset Management Inc Lowers Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

TD Asset Management Inc trimmed its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,721,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 75,017 shares during the period. Sun Life Financial comprises 0.8% of TD Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $944,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 6.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,157,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $409,576,000 after purchasing an additional 377,204 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 41.1% in the second quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 61,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,069,000 after acquiring an additional 17,799 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 226.8% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,270,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,327,000 after buying an additional 882,070 shares during the period. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 28.7% in the third quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 356,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,427,000 after acquiring an additional 79,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 310,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,609,000 after purchasing an additional 6,424 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. National Bank Financial reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.6%

SLF opened at $64.93 on Wednesday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.44 and a 52 week high of $69.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.99. The company has a market cap of $35.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $973.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 8.48%.During the same period last year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 59.55%.

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.