Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC lessened its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 83.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,168 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 117.7% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 372,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,386,000 after acquiring an additional 201,485 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,733,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,120,000 after acquiring an additional 243,323 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 671,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,312,000 after acquiring an additional 36,204 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 58.3% during the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,012,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $125,598,000 after acquiring an additional 741,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,341,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $73.57 on Tuesday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.22 and a fifty-two week high of $74.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.18.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $925.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 72.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SLF shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.50.

About Sun Life Financial

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.