164,352 Shares in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Acquired by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 164,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,542,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SLF. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 62,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,635,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sun Life Financial by 1.8% during the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,291,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 124.9% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Sun Life Financial by 1.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 33,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,642,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.26% of the company’s stock.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

SLF opened at $60.46 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.12. The firm has a market cap of $34.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.03. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.41 and a twelve month high of $62.85.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a $0.621 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. This is a positive change from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SLF. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Sun Life Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Sun Life Financial 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.