BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 630,499 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp trimmed its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 33.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,268,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 630,499 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned 0.22% of Sun Life Financial worth $72,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $244,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,074,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE SLF opened at $58.9250 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $61.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.80. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.44 and a 12 month high of $66.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 7.59%.The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be paid a $0.6394 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 63.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SLF shares. Barclays lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank upgraded Sun Life Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. National Bank Financial lowered Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

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.