Groupama Asset Managment Lowers Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Groupama Asset Managment trimmed its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 56.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,505 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 17,780 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $355,909,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,722,559 shares of the bank’s stock worth $451,075,000 after buying an additional 2,799,050 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 89.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,731,592 shares of the bank’s stock worth $276,372,000 after buying an additional 2,232,806 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 136.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,513,388 shares of the bank’s stock worth $205,217,000 after acquiring an additional 2,027,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,000,750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $467,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,953,372 shares during the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citizens Financial Group news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% 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. Also, CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at $82,214,789.41. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CFG shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.05.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE CFG opened at $71.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.42. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.90 and a twelve month high of $74.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $30.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.67.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Citizens Financial Group 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.