PDS Planning Inc Increases Stock Holdings in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $244,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 32,411 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $200,000. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 10,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised Sun Life Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday. National Bank Financial cut Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus raised Sun Life Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SLF stock opened at $61.59 on Friday. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.44 and a 1 year high of $66.81. The stock has a market cap of $37.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.59.

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

About Sun Life Financial

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.