Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 68,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,074,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $382,176,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 295.5% in the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,911,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,815 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2,071.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,350,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,160,000 after buying an additional 1,288,545 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,467,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,080,000 after buying an additional 812,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position 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 buying an additional 703,391 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cormark raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SLF opened at $58.34 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $56.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.41 and a 12 month high of $62.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

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.