M&R Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)

M&R Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,672 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,951 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group makes up 1.6% of M&R Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. M&R Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $7,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CFG. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 262.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 936 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Private Ocean LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 484.4% during the second quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 183.1% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CFG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Jack Read sold 3,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total value of $170,357.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,454,401.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of CFG opened at $40.06 on Thursday. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.77 and a 52 week high of $43.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.51.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.01). Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.21% and a net margin of 10.74%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. Citizens Financial Group’s payout ratio is 60.87%.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, corporations, and institutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking.