Mufg Securities Canada LTD. Sells 26,631 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. trimmed its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 931,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,631 shares during the quarter. Sun Life Financial accounts for 1.6% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $55,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SLF. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 184.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 62.8% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Tobam purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 48.8% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 121.8% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SLF. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE SLF opened at $65.56 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.44 and a 52 week high of $69.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $63.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.13. The firm has a market cap of $36.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $973.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.91%.

Sun Life Financial Profile

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.