California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 63,082 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 868,454 shares of the bank's stock after selling 63,082 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.19% of Citizens Financial Group worth $28,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,594,481 shares of the bank's stock worth $310,732,000 after buying an additional 621,715 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,532,398 shares of the bank's stock worth $148,268,000 after buying an additional 332,222 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,825,592 shares of the bank's stock worth $129,326,000 after buying an additional 168,157 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1,213.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,746,064 shares of the bank's stock worth $100,395,000 after buying an additional 3,460,792 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

CFG traded up $0.15 on Friday, hitting $35.15. 3,168,271 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,166,838. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.77 and a 12 month high of $36.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.38.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CFG shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 4,508 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total transaction of $151,198.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,902.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

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.