Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 57.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 37,514 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $1,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,233,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,438,888,000 after acquiring an additional 197,887 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,454,589 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $562,121,000 after acquiring an additional 198,205 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $382,176,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,467,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $210,080,000 after acquiring an additional 812,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 2,974,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $176,273,000 after acquiring an additional 93,992 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on SLF. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.0%

Sun Life Financial stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.05. 671,860 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 629,242. The business's 50 day moving average is $61.81 and its 200 day moving average is $58.99. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.41 and a 52 week high of $65.56. The company has a market capitalization of $36.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.92.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 7.47%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is 64.89%.

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.