QV Investors Inc. Sells 191,936 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

QV Investors Inc. lowered its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 16.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,002,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 191,936 shares during the period. Sun Life Financial makes up approximately 5.2% of QV Investors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $60,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 38.2% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 4,516 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 21.5% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 2,250 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 10.3% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 59,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,570,000 after buying an additional 5,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 4.7% in the third quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 42,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,575,000 after buying an additional 1,917 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cibc Captl Mkts cut Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.3%

SLF opened at $62.65 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.44 and a 52 week high of $66.81. The business’s 50 day moving average is $60.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.43. The firm has a market cap of $34.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 0.87.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $944.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 16.93% and a net margin of 7.53%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 26th. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 69.68%.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.