Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Sells 2,374,548 Shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc $SMFG

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group cut its stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 36.4% in Q3, selling 2,374,548 shares and retaining 4,143,124 shares valued at about $69.36 million (~0.06% of the company).
• Sumitomo Mitsui reported quarterly EPS of $0.16, missing the consensus of $0.40, and analysts expect roughly $0.39 in EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Brokerage opinions are mixed—with one Strong Buy, one Hold and one Sell—and the MarketBeat consensus rating is "Hold".

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. cut its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (NYSE:SMFG - Free Report) by 36.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,143,124 shares of the bank's stock after selling 2,374,548 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group worth $69,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 163.2% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,979 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the period. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 2,443.8% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on SMFG. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Zacks Research cut Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold".

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:SMFG opened at $19.10 on Friday. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc has a fifty-two week low of $11.83 and a fifty-two week high of $24.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $21.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.72.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.24). Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 13.81%.The firm had revenue of $17.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.93 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc (SMFG) is a Tokyo-based financial holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services through a network of domestic and international subsidiaries. Established in 2002 as a holding company for the Sumitomo Mitsui banking operations, SMFG's core banking business is conducted primarily through its main operating bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), alongside other affiliates covering trust banking, securities, leasing and consumer finance.

The group's product and service mix spans corporate and commercial banking, retail deposit and loan services, trade and project finance, cash management, syndicated lending, foreign exchange and treasury services, and capital markets and investment banking activities through its securities arm.

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