First Trust Advisors LP Sells 101,631 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 796,172 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 101,631 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.13% of Sun Life Financial worth $47,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,478 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,291,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 61.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,907 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 2,244 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the third quarter valued at $286,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on SLF. StockNews.com downgraded Sun Life Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Cormark upgraded Sun Life Financial from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $58.78. 54,353 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 679,707. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.85. The firm has a market cap of $33.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.41 and a fifty-two week high of $62.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.5876 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is 60.16%.

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.