Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Acquires 2,050,891 Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. by 282.5%, acquiring an additional 2,050,891 shares to total 2,776,920 shares valued at approximately $159 million.
• Institutional investors own 52.26% of Sun Life Financial, with several firms, including Investment Management Corp VA ADV and Hexagon Capital Partners LLC, significantly increasing their positions in the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have varied opinions on Sun Life Financial, with one analyst rating it as a Strong Buy, while others issued ratings ranging from Hold to Underweight, resulting in an average rating of Moderate Buy.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 282.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,776,920 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,050,891 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.49% of Sun Life Financial worth $159,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Sun Life Financial by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,595,092 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,407,626,000 after purchasing an additional 361,596 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 16,100,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $921,330,000 after purchasing an additional 374,682 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 8.9% during 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 buying an additional 846,735 shares during the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its position in Sun Life Financial by 5.2% during the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 6,748,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $385,740,000 after buying an additional 335,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 4.8% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 5,780,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $330,848,000 after acquiring an additional 266,732 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. National Bank Financial cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sun Life Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.6%

SLF stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $59.13. 53,799 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 683,666. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.07. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.29. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 7.59%.The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share 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.