Ramirez Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc $SMFG

Key Points

• Ramirez Asset Management Inc. has increased its stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 23.6%, holding 505,871 shares valued at approximately $7.64 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs and Charles Schwab, have also adjusted their holdings in the company, indicating strong interest in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.
• Research analysts have upgraded Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group's stock, with a consensus rating of "Buy" after several firms issued positive revisions.

Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (NYSE:SMFG - Free Report) by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 505,871 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 96,473 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group comprises about 1.2% of Ramirez Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Ramirez Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group were worth $7,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Calamos Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $2,706,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 20.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 579,277 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,956,000 after purchasing an additional 96,494 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 15.5% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 665,949 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,043,000 after acquiring an additional 89,464 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 6.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,923,502 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,737,000 after acquiring an additional 119,818 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,271,361 shares of the bank's stock valued at $174,255,000 after acquiring an additional 53,612 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 3.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SMFG. Nomura Securities upgraded shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of SMFG opened at $16.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $102.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.37. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc has a one year low of $11.83 and a one year high of $17.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company's fifty day moving average price is $16.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.25.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,094.67 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc will post 0.39 earnings per share 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.

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