Swedbank AB Sells 201,135 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Swedbank AB trimmed its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,704,569 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 201,135 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.40% of Citizens Financial Group worth $99,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CFG. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $87,173,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 2,082,961 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $110,730,000 after buying an additional 1,594,326 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 160.4% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,448,050 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $142,991,000 after buying an additional 1,508,070 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 411.6% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,729,587 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,025,000 after buying an additional 1,391,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,574,714 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $384,029,000 after buying an additional 763,098 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares in the company, valued at $9,632,956.84. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CFG. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $68.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.88.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $62.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.61 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.70. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.80 and a 12 month high of $68.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.04.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 16.21%.The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.50%.

About Citizens Financial Group

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.