Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,157 shares of the bank's stock after selling 95,919 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $3,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 217.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,978,410 shares of the bank's stock worth $213,821,000 after buying an additional 5,465,824 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1,213.2% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,746,064 shares of the bank's stock worth $100,395,000 after purchasing an additional 3,460,792 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 95.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,484,439 shares of the bank's stock worth $66,584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213,573 shares in the last quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 3,222.9% during the third quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,163,000 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 693.6% during the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,171,070 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023,504 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CFG traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.14. 3,168,271 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,799,489. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.77 and a 52-week high of $36.38. The company's 50-day moving average is $33.61 and its 200-day moving average is $30.89.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.10). Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 11.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. Citizens Financial Group's revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 60.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays cut Citizens Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $38.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $35.00 to $41.00 in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 6,327 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.70, for a total transaction of $213,219.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,265,704.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

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.