Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Position Boosted by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 112,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,759 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $6,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $382,176,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 295.5% during the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,911,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,453,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427,815 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 28.2% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,837,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284,556 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,192,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,712,000 after purchasing an additional 703,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Canada LTD. grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 71.5% in the fourth quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 879,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,178,000 after purchasing an additional 366,546 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

SLF opened at $58.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $33.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.64 and a 200-day moving average of $58.00. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.41 and a 52-week high of $62.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.5876 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SLF shares. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Cormark upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.