Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Purchases 59,800 Shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 86.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 128,884 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,800 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $7,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 37,289,711 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,982,532,000 after purchasing an additional 614,181 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,361,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $661,052,000 after buying an additional 32,264 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,217,975 shares of the bank’s stock worth $655,242,000 after buying an additional 298,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,953,372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Stephens initiated coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $68.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michelle Moosally sold 6,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $376,068.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE CFG opened at $70.97 on Monday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.90 and a 1 year high of $72.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.79. The company has a market cap of $30.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 is presently 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.