Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Buys 27,760 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 325,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,760 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.05% of Sun Life Financial worth $19,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,841,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,876,000 after acquiring an additional 34,072 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 703,391 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $878,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,596,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,743,000 after purchasing an additional 15,908 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Cormark raised Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. National Bank Financial raised Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $58.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $33.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.64 and its 200-day moving average is $58.00. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a one year low of $46.41 and a one year high of $62.85.

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

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.5876 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.16%.

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.