Cetera Investment Advisers Sells 4,227 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Cetera Investment Advisers reduced its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,695 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,227 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $3,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 28,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 47,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,843,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Sun Life Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cormark upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.4%

SLF traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $63.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 337,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 667,155. The stock has a market cap of $35.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The business's 50-day moving average price is $57.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.31. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.41 and a 12 month high of $63.75.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.6332 per share. This represents a $2.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.09%.

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.