Voloridge Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 55.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 163,697 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC's holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $7,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 28,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,693,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 4.5% during 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. lifted its position in Sun Life Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 47,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,843,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on SLF. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Cormark raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $64.87. 141,049 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 645,114. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.41 and a twelve month high of $65.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Equities 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, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.6332 dividend. This represents a $2.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is 62.09%.

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.