Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 1,211 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,727 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $2,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 100.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 988 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $40,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 336.3% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,693 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 77.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,314 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Citizens Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 6,327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.70, for a total value of $213,219.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,558 shares in the company, valued at $1,265,704.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of CFG stock opened at $34.98 on Wednesday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.77 and a 12 month high of $36.38. The stock has a market cap of $16.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.83.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.80%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

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.