Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Shares Sold by West Family Investments Inc.

West Family Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 21.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,540 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 47,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,843,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Five Oceans Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 3,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,291,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF opened at $55.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.41 and a 12-month high of $62.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $57.45 and its 200-day moving average is $57.75.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. National Bank Financial raised Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Cormark upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered 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 issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Profile

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.