Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Position in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,563,974 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 724,039 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $149,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,081,725 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $296,824,000 after buying an additional 678,601 shares in the last quarter. Rational Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,634,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 719,201 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,009,000 after buying an additional 7,054 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in Citizens Financial Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 19,900 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CFG shares. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $376,068.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,402,640.40. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Lamonica sold 13,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total value of $769,494.32. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 165,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,632,956.84. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:CFG opened at $64.09 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.17 and a 1 year high of $68.79. 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 market capitalization of $27.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.81.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Citizens Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.