Bank of Nova Scotia Trims Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 23.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,713,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,443,539 shares during the period. Sun Life Financial accounts for approximately 0.5% of Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.84% of Sun Life Financial worth $283,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 184.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 38.6% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management increased its position in Sun Life Financial by 121.8% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.2%

Sun Life Financial stock opened at $62.74 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.31 and a 200-day moving average of $61.54. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.44 and a 52-week high of $69.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26 and a beta of 0.87.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted 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 business had revenue of $973.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 61.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SLF shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.