K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Sells 2,000 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF)

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 31.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SLF. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 635,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,723,000 after purchasing an additional 37,194 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 559,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,187,000 after purchasing an additional 33,931 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the fourth quarter worth $95,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. Finally, Cormark upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $54.73 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.41 and a 1 year high of $62.85. The company has a market capitalization of $31.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $57.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.56.

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

Sun Life Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.5876 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

Sun Life Financial Company 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.