PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 25.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,560 shares during the period. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $1,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,422,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,691,568,000 after purchasing an additional 827,119 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,157,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $409,576,000 after purchasing an additional 377,204 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter worth about $362,886,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 19.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,625,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $312,065,000 after buying an additional 750,768 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.6% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,859,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,816,000 after buying an additional 371,139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $63.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.46. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a one year low of $52.44 and a one year high of $69.67.

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

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

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.