Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Lowers Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. reduced its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,105 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 10,053 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $1,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 319.8% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 424 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CFG shares. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Argus set a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.0%

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $70.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.80. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.96 and a 1-year high of $75.33.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 17.18%.The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.91%.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: CFG) is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S.