Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Sold by Amundi

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its Sun Life Financial stake by 4.5% in the first quarter, selling 55,656 shares and retaining 1.18 million shares worth approximately $73.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 52.26% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with Sun Life carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $84.67, despite one recent downgrade to “in-line.”
• Sun Life reported quarterly EPS of $1.38, exceeding estimates of $1.35, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.96, representing a 4.6% annualized yield.

Amundi lowered its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,176,481 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 55,656 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.19% of Sun Life Financial worth $73,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 113.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 4,270 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter valued at $204,000. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter valued at $232,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 66.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SLF shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, May 8th. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore downgraded Sun Life Financial from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Monday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.67.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $82.95 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.26. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.22 and a 12 month high of $84.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 7.85%.The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $925.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.96 dividend. This is an increase from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is 72.94%.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.

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