Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. Trims Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 32.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 203,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 99,080 shares during the quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $12,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of SLF opened at $71.57 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $65.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.84. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.22 and a 52 week high of $72.06. The stock has a market cap of $39.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27 and a beta of 0.87.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 8.48%.The firm had revenue of $973.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $973.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is currently 61.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SLF. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, February 19th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.50.

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.