Mackenzie Financial Corp Trims Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Mackenzie Financial Corp reduced its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,947,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 333,568 shares during the quarter. Sun Life Financial makes up 1.0% of Mackenzie Financial Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned approximately 2.06% of Sun Life Financial worth $767,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triasima Portfolio Management inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.8%

SLF traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $64.25. 193,513 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 652,712. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $58.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.41 and a 1-year high of $64.98.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.44 billion. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 8.08%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.6332 dividend. This represents a $2.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SLF shares. 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 research report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Sun Life Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Cormark raised Sun Life Financial from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

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.