Van ECK Associates Corp Has $51.31 Million Stock Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 11.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 654,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 86,065 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $51,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 68.4% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. First Bancorp Inc ME acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Argus set a $81.00 price target on Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.33.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $78.82 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.22 and a twelve month high of $84.38. The firm has a market cap of $43.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.68.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.07. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 7.66%.The business had revenue of $10.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $994.33 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.02%.

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.