DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Decreases Stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale cut its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,046,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 39,972 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.18% of Sun Life Financial worth $53,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the first quarter valued at $32,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 166.9% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 678 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of SLF traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $53.39. The stock had a trading volume of 278,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 376,079. The company has a market cap of $31.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $53.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.07. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.57 and a 1-year high of $55.46.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.73 billion for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 7.79%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.581 per share. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is presently 59.79%.

Sun Life Financial 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.