DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Has $359,000 Stock Position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main reduced its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 43.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,048 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,677 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main's holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $623,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $570,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 155.6% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 26,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 15,921 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE SLF traded up $0.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $63.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 502,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 655,806. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $57.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.14. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.41 and a 1-year high of $63.34.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.05. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.6332 dividend. This represents a $2.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is presently 62.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cormark raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Sun Life Financial from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

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.