Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Acquires New Position in Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. $MFG

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services acquired 1,548,558 shares of Mizuho Financial Group in Q4, a new stake valued at about $11.34 million, joining other institutions (CIBC, American Century, JPMorgan) that have recently built or increased positions.
• Mizuho's shares opened at $8.62 (12‑month range $4.74–$10.28) after reporting quarterly EPS of $0.16 vs. a $0.14 consensus and a P/E of 15.11, while analysts' consensus remains a “Moderate Buy” following a slight Weiss rating downgrade.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MFG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,548,558 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $11,335,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MFG. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in Mizuho Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $52,058,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mizuho Financial Group during the third quarter worth $7,251,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mizuho Financial Group by 33.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,821,302 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,603,000 after buying an additional 961,303 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Mizuho Financial Group during the second quarter worth $3,035,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Mizuho Financial Group by 65.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,120,375 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,507,000 after buying an additional 442,930 shares during the last quarter. 3.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mizuho Financial Group Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of Mizuho Financial Group stock opened at $8.62 on Friday. Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $4.74 and a twelve month high of $10.28. The stock has a market cap of $107.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.42. The company's fifty day moving average is $8.55 and its 200 day moving average is $7.71.

Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The bank reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Mizuho Financial Group had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mizuho Financial Group from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

About Mizuho Financial Group

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc is a major Japanese banking and financial services holding company headquartered in Tokyo. The group operates through a network of subsidiaries that provide a full range of retail, corporate and investment banking services. Its core businesses include deposit-taking and lending, transaction banking, cash management, trade finance and treasury services for both individual and institutional clients.

Beyond traditional commercial banking, Mizuho offers securities and capital markets services, investment banking, underwriting, M&A advisory, and asset management through its securities and trust banking arms.

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