Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 8,642 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board cut its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 25.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,642 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $1,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.2% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 8,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.2% during the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 5,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Argus raised shares of Sun Life Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SLF traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.73. The company had a trading volume of 7,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 709,611. The firm has a market cap of $28.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $49.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.58. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.57 and a fifty-two week high of $55.46.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.09). Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.94% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.25 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.588 per share. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 29th. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 60.10%.

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.