Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Makes New Investment in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 50,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,982,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,411,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $69,785,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $116,628,000. Finally, Man Group plc purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter worth about $6,964,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:SLF opened at $80.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $44.94 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.07. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.22 and a 12 month high of $84.38.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.07. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 7.66%.The firm had revenue of $10.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.33 million. Research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be given a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SLF. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Wednesday. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore downgraded Sun Life Financial from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.67.

Sun Life Financial 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.