Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Acquires 99,702 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 688,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 99,702 shares during the period. Sun Life Financial comprises approximately 1.1% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned about 0.11% of Sun Life Financial worth $40,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SLF. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $113,453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,815 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,837,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,621,000 after buying 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% during 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 in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,256,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $537,288,000 after buying an additional 654,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 257,178 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SLF opened at $56.73 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.86. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.41 and a 1 year high of $62.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 8.08%. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.5876 dividend. 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 4.14%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 60.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Sun Life Financial

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.