Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 58,655 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 998,526 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 58,655 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $59,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CFG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Citizens Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $355,909,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $451,075,000 after buying an additional 2,799,050 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $276,372,000 after buying an additional 2,232,806 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 136.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,513,388 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $205,217,000 after buying an additional 2,027,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,000,750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $467,389,000 after buying an additional 1,953,372 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In other news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,640.40. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:CFG traded up $0.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.36. 3,690,539 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,578,129. The stock has a market cap of $29.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.17. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.90 and a 52-week high of $72.94.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CFG. Citigroup lowered shares of Citizens Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.35.

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.