Mufg Securities Canada LTD. Has $52.18 Million Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. boosted its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 71.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 879,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 366,546 shares during the quarter. Sun Life Financial accounts for about 1.9% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. owned approximately 0.14% of Sun Life Financial worth $52,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,233,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,438,888,000 after purchasing an additional 197,887 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,256,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $537,288,000 after buying an additional 654,404 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,712,000 after buying an additional 703,391 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,837,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284,556 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,189,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,047,000 after acquiring an additional 257,178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Cormark upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $57.60 on Wednesday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.41 and a 52-week high of $62.85. The company has a market capitalization of $36.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.80 and a 200-day moving average of $57.94.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 8.08%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.5876 per share. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 60.16%.

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.