Citigroup Inc. Has $8.82 Million Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. has reduced its stake in Sun Life Financial by 7.9% during the first quarter, now owning 154,099 shares worth approximately $8.8 million.
• Sun Life Financial's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $1.29, meeting analysts' expectations, but revenues fell short at $6.65 billion against a projected $7.34 billion.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.6394 per share, reflecting a 4.4% yield on an annualized basis, with the payout ratio currently at 63.12%.

Citigroup Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 7.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 154,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,216 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.'s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $8,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 58.1% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 53,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,085,000 after purchasing an additional 19,819 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 12.2% during the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 43,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,479,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 7.3% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,018,191 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $58,302,000 after purchasing an additional 69,071 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,607,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,000,000 after purchasing an additional 11,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,283,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SLF. National Bank Financial lowered Sun Life Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank raised shares of Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF traded up $0.1760 during trading on Thursday, reaching $58.7360. 420,591 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 701,961. The company's fifty day moving average price is $62.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.79. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.44 and a fifty-two week high of $66.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.29. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.34 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 17.21%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be issued a $0.6394 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is currently 63.12%.

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.