Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,176 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $4,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 34,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,807,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Sun Life Financial by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,067,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $311,073,000 after purchasing an additional 200,865 shares during the period. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth $1,836,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 33,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,763,000 after buying an additional 2,593 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

SLF stock traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 338,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 599,464. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.57 and a 52-week high of $55.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.00.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.06. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 7.79%. The business had revenue of $13.73 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.581 per share. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 59.79%.

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.