Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Acquires 971 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $4,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SLF. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 28.2% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,837,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284,556 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,712,000 after acquiring an additional 703,391 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake 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 valued at $537,288,000 after acquiring an additional 654,404 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 5.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,189,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,047,000 after acquiring an additional 257,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,123,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,550,000 after acquiring an additional 253,488 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $55.40 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.41 and a 52-week high of $62.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.98 and a 200-day moving average of $57.81.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid 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 4.24%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLF has been the subject of a number of research reports. National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Cormark raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About Sun Life Financial

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.