Avanza Fonder AB Boosts Stock Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Avanza Fonder AB boosted its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 31.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,253 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $2,675,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,157,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $409,576,000 after purchasing an additional 377,204 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $362,886,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.6% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,859,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,816,000 after buying an additional 371,139 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.3% in the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 3,303,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $197,709,000 after buying an additional 196,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 9.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,733,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,120,000 after acquiring an additional 243,323 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF stock opened at $63.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.82. The stock has a market cap of $34.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 0.87. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.44 and a 1 year high of $69.67.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.06. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 8.48%.The company had revenue of $973.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 61.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on SLF. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.50.

About Sun Life Financial

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.