Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its Citizens Financial Group stake by 12.2% in the first quarter, selling 33,273 shares and leaving it with 239,343 shares worth about $14.35 million.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on CFG: the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $72.38, and several firms recently raised targets or reiterated positive ratings.
• Citizens Financial Group reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $1.13 and revenue of $2.17 billion, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share for a 2.6% annualized yield.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 12.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 239,343 shares of the bank's stock after selling 33,273 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.06% of Citizens Financial Group worth $14,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the bank's stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the bank's stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,932 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 10,466 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 93.4% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the bank's stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 4,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 65,564 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,934,000 after acquiring an additional 3,225 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,640.40. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CFG stock opened at $70.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $30.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's 50-day moving average is $65.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.70. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.90 and a 12 month high of $72.46.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. Analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.50%.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc NYSE: CFG is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S.

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