Todd Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Todd Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 439,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,390 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $22,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,472,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,096,640,000 after purchasing an additional 361,798 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,925,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,388,000 after buying an additional 27,027 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 9.1% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,436,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,487,000 after acquiring an additional 371,693 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 4.9% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,796,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $186,057,000 after acquiring an additional 176,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 1.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,897,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,381,000 after acquiring an additional 41,147 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.48. 387,697 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 574,018. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.57 and a 1-year high of $55.46. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $53.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.00.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.73 billion for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.79% and a return on equity of 17.30%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.581 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is presently 59.79%.

About Sun Life Financial

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.