164,352 Shares in Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Bought 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 - Free Report) TSE: SLF in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 164,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,542,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sun Life Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $384,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 36.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 10.0% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.8% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 62,389 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 2,261 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sun Life Financial by 58.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays started coverage on Sun Life Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Sun Life Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Sun Life Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLF traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $60.13. 790,242 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 673,754. The stock has a market cap of $34.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.03. Sun Life Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.41 and a 1-year high of $62.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.16.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.621 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Sun Life Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.23%.

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.