Wintrust Investments LLC Decreases Holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Wintrust Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 69.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,330 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,019 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $93,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Core Alternative Capital lifted its stake in Citigroup by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE C opened at $67.13 on Friday. Citigroup Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.51 and a 12-month high of $84.74. The company has a market cap of $126.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. 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 fifty day moving average price of $77.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.84.

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

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America increased their price target on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other Citigroup news, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total value of $2,433,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 229,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,586,498. This trade represents a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total transaction of $1,225,276.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at $8,893,277.80. The trade was a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.