Natixis Increases Stock Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Natixis boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 143.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,795 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 25,838 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $2,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 47,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,843,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Five Oceans Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 3,875 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

SLF traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 235,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 683,983. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.41 and a fifty-two week high of $62.85. The stock has a market cap of $33.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50-day moving average is $56.00 and its 200-day moving average is $57.84.

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

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.5876 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is presently 60.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.