80,180 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Sold by Ninety One SA Pty Ltd

Key Points

• Ninety One SA Pty Ltd reduced its Citizens Financial Group stake by 32.9%, selling 80,180 shares and retaining 163,472 shares valued at approximately $10.44 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 94.9%, with firms including Amundi increasing positions while BlackRock, Bank of America, and Legal & General established new stakes.
• Citizens Financial Group recently exceeded earnings expectations, reporting $1.30 in quarterly EPS versus a $1.25 consensus estimate. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $79.08.

Ninety One SA Pty Ltd trimmed its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 32.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 163,472 shares of the bank's stock after selling 80,180 shares during the quarter. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $10,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,415,046,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,719,160 shares of the bank's stock valued at $282,927,000 after acquiring an additional 28,602 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,685,819 shares of the bank's stock valued at $258,265,000 after acquiring an additional 875,666 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $223,386,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $207,234,000. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.9%

CFG stock traded up $1.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $63.77. 1,390,491 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,579,596. The stock has a market cap of $26.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.96 and a fifty-two week high of $75.33. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $68.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.03.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CFG. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $90.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. Barclays upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions through branches, digital channels and other delivery platforms.

The company's consumer banking activities include checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lending, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Through its commercial banking operations, Citizens provides business loans, commercial real estate financing, treasury management, capital markets services and other solutions for companies and institutional clients.

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