Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 2,365.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 116,615 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $7,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,841,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,876,000 after buying an additional 34,072 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,403,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 703,391 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $878,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $56.23 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.41 and a 1 year high of $62.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $56.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.86. The stock has a market cap of $35.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its 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 net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. On average, equities analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

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.