Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $170.07 Million Stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 71.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,867,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,200,000 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $170,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.8% during 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 buying an additional 197,887 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 703,391 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $382,176,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,467,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,080,000 after acquiring an additional 812,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 2,974,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,273,000 after purchasing an additional 93,992 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE SLF opened at $56.40 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.41 and a 12 month high of $62.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.89 and a 200-day moving average of $57.84. The company has a market cap of $32.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.30. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 16.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.5876 per share. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.