William Blair Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc $SMFG

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management LLC has decreased its stake in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (SMFG) by 35.1% in the 2nd quarter, reducing their holdings to 131,226 shares valued at approximately $1.98 million.
• Analysts have recently upgraded the stock rating for SMFG, with Zacks Research and Nomura Securities both assigning a "strong-buy" rating, contributing to a current consensus rating of "Buy."
• Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group reported a quarterly EPS of $0.40, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.09, and its stock performance includes a 12-month range from $11.83 to $17.46.

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (NYSE:SMFG - Free Report) by 35.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,226 shares of the bank's stock after selling 70,920 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC's holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group were worth $1,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 18,070 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,123 shares of the bank's stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 4,392 shares in the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 151,031 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,282,000 after buying an additional 5,911 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 310,086 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,685,000 after buying an additional 8,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 90,895 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,373,000 after buying an additional 2,402 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on SMFG. Zacks Research raised Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Nomura Securities raised Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of SMFG opened at $16.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $104.44 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.28. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc has a 12-month low of $11.83 and a 12-month high of $17.46.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,094.67 billion. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 11.78%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Profile

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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