Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,361,142 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 32,264 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $661,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 37,289,711 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,982,532,000 after buying an additional 614,181 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,064,513 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,279,270,000 after buying an additional 393,158 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,220,986 shares of the bank’s stock worth $423,222,000 after buying an additional 505,614 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,574,714 shares of the bank’s stock worth $384,029,000 after buying an additional 763,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,047,378 shares of the bank’s stock worth $321,534,000 after buying an additional 138,688 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens Financial Group

In related news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $769,494.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,632,956.84. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $62.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.44. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.40 and a 1 year high of $68.79. The stock has a market cap of $26.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.70.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $68.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.88.

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.