Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Sold by Mufg Securities Canada LTD.

Key Points

• MUFG Securities Canada reduced its Sun Life Financial stake by 4.6% in the second quarter, selling 37,878 shares and retaining 783,684 shares worth approximately $61.4 million.
• Institutional ownership remains significant at 52.26%, with several major investors—including Bank of Nova Scotia, Norges Bank, Geode Capital, and Morgan Stanley—initiating or increasing positions.
• Sun Life exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.46 in EPS versus $1.39 expected, and declared a $0.96 quarterly dividend, representing a 4.9% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $96.33.

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. decreased its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 783,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 37,878 shares during the quarter. Sun Life Financial makes up 1.6% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. owned about 0.14% of Sun Life Financial worth $61,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $544,052,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,037,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,529,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $353,181,000 after acquiring an additional 347,041 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 86.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,952,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $246,645,000 after buying an additional 1,834,772 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,896,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,542,000 after purchasing an additional 36,698 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLF has been the subject of several research reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. Argus set a $81.00 target price on Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Sun Life Financial from $98.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.33.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $78.47 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34 and a beta of 0.88. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.22 and a twelve month high of $84.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.82.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.07. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 7.66%.The business had revenue of $10.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $994.33 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is 64.02%.

About Sun Life Financial

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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