Wellington Management Group LLP Buys 1,288,545 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 2,071.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,350,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,288,545 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $80,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,233,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,438,888,000 after purchasing an additional 197,887 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $427,712,000 after buying an additional 703,391 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $382,176,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 28.2% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,837,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,621,000 after buying an additional 1,284,556 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,841,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,876,000 after acquiring an additional 34,072 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 6.4 %

SLF opened at $54.53 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.41 and a 12-month high of $62.85. The company has a market cap of $31.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.00.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. On average, analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.5876 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.31%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cormark upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial 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.