Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Reduces Position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lowered its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,510 shares of the company’s stock after selling 734 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $2,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 8,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Citigroup by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Citigroup by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. MWA Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 1.4% during the third quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 12,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 0.3% during the third quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 67,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,209,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:C opened at $79.97 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.43. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.24 and a 1 year high of $82.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.32.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on C shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upgraded Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.93.

Citigroup Profile

Citigroup Inc, a diversified financial service holding company, provides various financial product and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions worldwide. It operates through five segments: Services, Markets, Banking, U.S. Personal Banking, and Wealth. The Services segment includes Treasury and Trade Solutions, which provides cash management, trade, and working capital solutions to multinational corporations, financial institutions, and public sector organizations; and Securities Services, such as cross-border support for clients, local market expertise, post-trade technologies, data solutions, and various securities services solutions.