Forsta AP Fonden Lowers Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 25.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 296,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 99,500 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $18,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SLF. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $398,037,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,568,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 115.3% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 44,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,763,000 after purchasing an additional 23,672 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,529,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $353,181,000 after purchasing an additional 347,041 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 19,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SLF shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.0%

SLF stock opened at $71.92 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $68.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.55. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.22 and a 52 week high of $74.16. The company has a market cap of $39.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54 and a beta of 0.91.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $925.99 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.94%.

Sun Life Financial 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.