Insider Selling: Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) CEO Sells $9,323,623.83 in Stock

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) CEO Saun Bruce Van sold 129,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $9,323,623.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,140,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,214,789.41. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:CFG opened at $71.72 on Friday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.90 and a 1 year high of $74.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50-day moving average is $68.26 and its 200-day moving average is $64.37. The company has a market capitalization of $30.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.67.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $355,909,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 56.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 89.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,027,255 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,000,750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $467,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,953,372 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CFG shares. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Argus set a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Citizens Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.05.

Citizens Financial Group Company 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.