Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,550,000 shares, a drop of 54.0% from the December 15th total of 3,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 581,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

Sun Life Financial stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.42. 105,588 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 386,741. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.78. Sun Life Financial has a 52 week low of $46.41 and a 52 week high of $62.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.03.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $0.621 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 2.9% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 14,703,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $721,042,000 after buying an additional 407,913 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 5.1% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 10,216,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $500,492,000 after buying an additional 499,009 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 7.6% during the third 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 last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 5.0% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 6,975,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $341,715,000 after buying an additional 332,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 1.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,488,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $377,311,000 after purchasing an additional 81,261 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.