Raymond James & Associates Sells 2,078 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 7.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,078 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $1,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter worth $25,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 44.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Credit Suisse Group dropped their price objective on Sun Life Financial from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 10th.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $47.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.40. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.48 and a twelve month high of $53.21.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. The business had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 7.28%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.566 per share. This represents a $2.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 29th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.36%.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc, a financial services company, provides savings, retirement, and pension products worldwide. It offers term and permanent life, as well as personal health, dental, critical illness, long-term care, and disability insurance products. The company provides financial advice, asset management, and investments related products.