Bridgewater Associates LP Acquires 139,455 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 720.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 158,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 139,455 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $9,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,233,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,438,888,000 after purchasing an additional 197,887 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Sun Life Financial by 10.8% in 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 buying an additional 703,391 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth $382,176,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,467,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,080,000 after buying an additional 812,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 2,974,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,273,000 after acquiring an additional 93,992 shares during the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $56.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $32.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.41 and a 12-month high of $62.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.85.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research 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 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 60.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SLF shares. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Cormark upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.