USS Investment Management Ltd Lowers Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 138,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,982 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $8,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 4,657.1% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 432.0% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 838 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SLF shares. Cormark upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com lowered Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of SLF stock opened at $63.10 on Thursday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.41 and a twelve month high of $63.78. The company has a market capitalization of $35.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.38.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.6332 per share. This represents a $2.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.09%.

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.