Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Sold by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 32.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,574,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 773,647 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.28% of Sun Life Financial worth $98,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SLF. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $244,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 113.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 4,270 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SLF. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, May 8th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF opened at $73.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.29. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.22 and a 1-year high of $74.68. The stock has a market cap of $40.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05 and a beta of 0.89.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $925.99 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 72.94%.

Sun Life Financial 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.