American Century Companies Inc. Buys 89,792 Shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc $SMFG

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc by 5.9%, acquiring 89,792 additional shares, bringing its total holdings to 1,605,115 shares valued at approximately $24.81 million.
• Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group reported a Q2 EPS of $0.40, surpassing analysts' expectation of $0.31, with quarterly revenue significantly higher than anticipated at $16.41 billion.
• Analyst ratings have improved for the stock, with recent upgrades including a shift from a "sell" to a "hold" by Wall Street Zen and a "strong-buy" rating from Nomura Securities.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (NYSE:SMFG - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,605,115 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 89,792 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group were worth $24,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 1,044.1% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,334 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 2,130 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 88.3% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,404 shares of the bank's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 3.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Nomura Securities upgraded shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy".

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of SMFG stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $16.52. The stock had a trading volume of 987,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,860,688. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $15.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc has a 12 month low of $11.83 and a 12 month high of $17.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.41.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The bank reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.09. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1,094.67 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

About Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking, leasing, securities, credit card, and consumer finance services in Japan, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania. It operates through Wholesale Business Unit, Retail Business Unit, Global Business Unit, and Global Markets Business Unit segments.