Swiss National Bank Has $99.51 Million Stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,676,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 72,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $99,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 401,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,848,000 after buying an additional 90,305 shares during the period. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 45,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,692,000 after buying an additional 12,680 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 18,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 1,415 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE:SLF opened at $55.40 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.41 and a 12-month high of $62.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.79.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 8.08%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.5876 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on SLF. StockNews.com cut Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. National Bank Financial raised Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Cormark raised Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.