Citigroup Inc. Grows Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 117.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 372,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 201,485 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.07% of Sun Life Financial worth $22,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SLF. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 184.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 62.8% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Tobam bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 48.8% in the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 121.8% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. National Bank Financial reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF opened at $65.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average is $63.90 and its 200 day moving average is $61.05. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.44 and a fifty-two week high of $69.67.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $973.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.76%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 60.91%.

Sun Life Financial Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.