Aigen Investment Management LP Purchases New Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $546,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 7.6% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,256,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $537,288,000 after acquiring an additional 654,404 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,712,000 after buying an additional 703,391 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 28.2% in 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,189,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,047,000 after buying an additional 257,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake 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 during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SLF. National Bank Financial raised Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $55.62 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $57.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.75. 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 cap of $31.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.5876 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.16%.

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.