Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Sold by QV Investors Inc.

QV Investors Inc. cut its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 16.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,002,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 191,936 shares during the period. Sun Life Financial accounts for about 5.2% of QV Investors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. QV Investors Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Sun Life Financial worth $60,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 130.6% in the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Tobam acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 48.8% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 121.8% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. CIBC reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.3%

Sun Life Financial stock opened at $62.65 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.44 and a 52-week high of $66.81. The firm has a market cap of $34.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day moving average is $60.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.43.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $944.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 16.93%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.68%.

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.