Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Shares Purchased by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC raised its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,149,956 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 151,042 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.06% of Citigroup worth $80,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Core Alternative Capital increased its holdings in Citigroup by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total transaction of $1,225,276.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,893,277.80. The trade was a 12.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total value of $4,864,872.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 217,331 shares in the company, valued at $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Stock Down 8.0 %

Shares of Citigroup stock opened at $58.00 on Friday. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $53.51 and a one year high of $84.74. The company has a market cap of $109.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.75, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.95.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Citigroup

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.