Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG Stock Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 1,410.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 890,438 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 831,484 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd owned 0.21% of Citizens Financial Group worth $56,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Citizens Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,478,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 635.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 126,155 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,044,000 after acquiring an additional 109,004 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 33,256 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group in the third quarter worth approximately $59,869,000. Finally, Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 7.9% in the third quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,919 shares of the bank’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Bruce Van Saun sold 129,369 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $9,323,623.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares in the company, valued at $82,214,789.41. This trade represents a 10.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $62.70 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $67.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.13. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.00 and a twelve month high of $75.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.72.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 9.52%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This is a boost from Citizens Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CFG shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Stephens boosted 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 note on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted 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. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.58.

About Citizens Financial Group

Citizens Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Its principal subsidiary, Citizens Bank, provides banking and financial services to consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutional clients.

The company offers consumer deposit accounts, residential mortgages, home equity financing, credit cards, personal loans and other lending products. Its commercial banking activities include business loans, equipment financing, treasury management, capital markets services and investment banking.