Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Shares Bought by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 200,860 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,657 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $14,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its stake in Citigroup by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 5,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 9,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 115,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,808 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citigroup Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE C opened at $70.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.60. Citigroup Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.51 and a 52-week high of $84.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The business’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on C shares. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.93.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total value of $1,225,276.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,893,277.80. This trade represents a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total value of $4,864,872.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Company 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.