Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. Boosts Stock Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 316,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,155 shares during the period. Sun Life Financial accounts for 2.0% of Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. owned about 0.05% of Sun Life Financial worth $18,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SLF. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,233,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,438,888,000 after acquiring an additional 197,887 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,712,000 after buying an additional 703,391 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth $382,176,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 30.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 2,974,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,273,000 after purchasing an additional 93,992 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of SLF stock opened at $56.40 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.83. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.41 and a 52 week high of $62.85. The stock has a market cap of $32.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.5876 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is presently 60.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cormark raised Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About Sun Life Financial

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.