Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Acquires 335,054 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. by 5.2%, now holding 6,748,255 shares and making it the fund's 8th largest holding.
• Sun Life Financial reported earnings of $1.29 per share, meeting consensus estimates, but its revenue of $6.65 billion fell short of analyst expectations.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Sun Life Financial, with two holding a buy rating, while Barclays recently downgraded its rating to underweight.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its position in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,748,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 335,054 shares during the quarter. Sun Life Financial makes up 1.9% of Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec owned approximately 1.19% of Sun Life Financial worth $385,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 164.5% during the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 619 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 53.2% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 665 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter worth $55,000. CX Institutional acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter worth $109,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLF has been the subject of several analyst reports. National Bank Financial cut Sun Life Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Scotiabank raised Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Sun Life Financial from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays cut Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.1%

SLF traded down $0.08 on Friday, hitting $57.73. 385,758 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 807,044. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.64 and a 200-day moving average of $59.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.89. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.44 and a 12-month high of $66.81.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF - Get Free Report) TSE: SLF last issued 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 business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.34 billion. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 7.59%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial 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.