Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Shares Sold by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. cut its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 432 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 295.5% during the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,911,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,453,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427,815 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,837,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,621,000 after buying an additional 1,284,556 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,712,000 after purchasing an additional 703,391 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,256,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $537,288,000 after purchasing an additional 654,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,189,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,047,000 after purchasing an additional 257,178 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SLF shares. Cormark upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

SLF stock opened at $56.45 on Wednesday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.41 and a 52-week high of $62.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 8.08%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.5876 dividend. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

Sun Life Financial Profile

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.