Bessemer Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. $SLF

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its stake in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 28,641 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Sun Life Financial were worth $3,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 130.6% in the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Tobam bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 48.8% in the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 121.8% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Sun Life Financial stock opened at $65.23 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.55. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.44 and a 12-month high of $66.81. The firm has a market cap of $36.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $944.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $944.53 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 16.93%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sun Life Financial Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on SLF. National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sun Life Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.50.

About Sun Life Financial

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.