Swiss National Bank Raises Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 0.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,749,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $101,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SLF. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6,244.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2,747.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 124.9% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF stock opened at $60.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.97. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.41 and a 1-year high of $61.61. The company has a market cap of $38.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.01.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a $0.621 dividend. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.23%.

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.