Prudential PLC Sells 3,032 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Prudential PLC decreased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 11.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,032 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $1,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 282.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,776,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $159,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,891 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 47.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,221,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353,508 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,968,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 10,338,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $591,968,000 after purchasing an additional 846,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,422,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,691,568,000 after purchasing an additional 827,119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SLF. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Securities raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Scotiabank raised shares of Sun Life Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, National Bank Financial lowered Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 1.6%

SLF stock opened at $59.61 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.44 and a 52 week high of $66.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $944.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 17.21%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.41%.

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.