The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stock Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,108,118 shares of the bank's stock after selling 48,309 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.25% of Citizens Financial Group worth $48,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 35,900,115 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,570,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131,838 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,929,591 shares of the bank's stock valued at $477,043,000 after purchasing an additional 124,860 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,570,083 shares of the bank's stock valued at $462,547,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298,040 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,683,111 shares of the bank's stock worth $423,733,000 after buying an additional 1,672,204 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $243,431,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $36.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $16.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.81. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.60 and a 1 year high of $49.25. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $39.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.34.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 53.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.18.

Citizens Financial Group 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.

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