68,656 Shares in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 68,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,074,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SLF. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 28.2% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,837,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284,556 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $427,712,000 after purchasing an additional 703,391 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,189,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,047,000 after purchasing an additional 257,178 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,123,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,550,000 after purchasing an additional 253,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 8.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,654,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $156,127,000 after acquiring an additional 207,832 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:SLF opened at $57.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.41 and a 1-year high of $62.85. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.93.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. Sell-side analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.5876 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cormark raised Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial 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.