JFS Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 432.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 838 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $61,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 48,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,817,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 123.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 4,237 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 25,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after buying an additional 1,348 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $963,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 106,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,168,000 after acquiring an additional 4,390 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $55.58 on Wednesday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.41 and a 1 year high of $62.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $58.65 and its 200 day moving average is $57.28. The stock has a market cap of $34.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.03.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 17.44%. On average, equities analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.5876 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 57.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com cut Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.