Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 3,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLF. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 282.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,776,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $159,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,891 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 47.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,221,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,643,000 after buying an additional 1,353,508 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the first quarter worth about $50,968,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in 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 worth $591,968,000 after acquiring an additional 846,735 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the first quarter worth about $23,135,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLF has been the topic of several research reports. Argus upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Cibc Captl Mkts lowered shares of Sun Life Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:SLF opened at $60.81 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $33.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.24. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.44 and a fifty-two week high of $66.81.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.29. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.34 billion. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 17.21%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 EPS 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.