Korea Investment CORP Purchases 41,570 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Korea Investment CORP raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 426,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 41,570 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $25,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SLF. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 295.5% during the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,911,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,453,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427,815 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 28.2% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 1,284,556 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 703,391 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 71.5% during the 4th quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 879,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,178,000 after purchasing an additional 366,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,189,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,047,000 after purchasing an additional 257,178 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $56.64 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.41 and a 52-week high of $62.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.94. The stock has a market cap of $32.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 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%. Analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.5876 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 60.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com cut 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 research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.