23,000 Shares in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Bought by HAP Trading LLC

Key Points

• HAP Trading LLC has acquired 23,000 shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. valued at approximately $1.3 million, marking a new investment position in the company.
• Institutional investors currently own 52.26% of Sun Life Financial's stock, with significant positions also acquired by Wellington Management and Value Partners Investments.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Sun Life Financial, with a current average price target of $88.00 and varied recommendations including "Buy," "Hold," and "Sell."

HAP Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 23,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,317,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 2,071.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,350,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $80,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288,545 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 1,002.9% in the first quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,120,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019,254 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Sun Life Financial in the first quarter valued at $50,968,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 8.9% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 10,338,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $591,968,000 after purchasing an additional 846,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial in the first quarter valued at $23,135,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SLF opened at $57.86 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.60 and a 200-day moving average of $59.79. The stock has a market cap of $32.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.90. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.44 and a 52-week high of $66.81.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.34 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 17.21%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SLF. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank raised shares of Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $88.00.

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.

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