Signaturefd LLC Grows Stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $1,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SLF. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2,747.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 13.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 43,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,509,000 after purchasing an additional 5,086 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 16.9% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 7,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 5.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,580,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,778,000 after purchasing an additional 79,155 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 5.1% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 11,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE SLF opened at $56.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $35.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.85. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.41 and a twelve month high of $62.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 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%. Research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given 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 4.15%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cormark raised Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial 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.