Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 374 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 374 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $2,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SLF. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,026,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 26,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 39,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,325,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 94.8% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 20,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 9,800 shares during the period. Finally, Ninepoint Partners LP increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 60,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,583,000 after acquiring an additional 4,638 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF stock opened at $56.23 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.41 and a 52 week high of $62.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $56.80 and its 200 day moving average is $57.86. The firm has a market cap of $35.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.5876 per share. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cormark upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.