Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its stake in Sun Life Financial by 23.2%, selling 13,452 shares to hold 44,494 shares valued at approximately $2.95 million.
• Following recent earnings results, Sun Life Financial reported an EPS of $1.29, meeting analysts' expectations, with revenues of $6.65 billion that fell short of projections.
• Analyst ratings for Sun Life Financial show a mixed outlook, with upgrades to "strong buy" by Argus, while Barclays downgraded the stock to "underweight," reflecting diverging views on its future performance.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF - Free Report) TSE: SLF by 23.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,494 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,452 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $2,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $244,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,575 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 2,099 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 5,676.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 32,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 32,411 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $200,000. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,129,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,651,000 after purchasing an additional 5,785 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF stock opened at $60.23 on Thursday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a one year low of $52.44 and a one year high of $66.81. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $59.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Sun Life Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Scotiabank upgraded Sun Life Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays downgraded Sun Life Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut shares of Sun Life Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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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