Janus Henderson Group PLC Has $4.57 Million Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Janus Henderson Group PLC reduced its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 76,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,400 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $4,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,233,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,438,888,000 after purchasing an additional 197,887 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,454,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $562,121,000 after purchasing an additional 198,205 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.8% in 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 last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $382,176,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,467,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,080,000 after purchasing an additional 812,689 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, May 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cormark raised Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF opened at $62.87 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a one year low of $46.41 and a one year high of $63.39. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.26.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 8.08%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a $0.6332 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.09%.

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.