Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,525,227 shares of the bank's stock after selling 17,980 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.81% of Citizens Financial Group worth $144,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $398,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 19.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,870 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 425.7% during the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 26,104 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 21,138 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 5.3% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,069,813 shares of the bank's stock worth $43,830,000 after acquiring an additional 54,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 17.8% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 48,414 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,949,000 after acquiring an additional 7,302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CFG traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.42. The company had a trading volume of 7,335,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,857,224. The stock has a market cap of $20.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.76. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $49.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $41.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.20.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 12.76%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 53.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CFG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $48.00 target price (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.32.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, corporations, and institutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking.