Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Position Increased by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 34.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,214,204 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 569,565 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $155,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in C. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,378,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,115,000 after purchasing an additional 54,782 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 3rd quarter worth about $479,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 141,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,874,000 after acquiring an additional 5,944 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,592,000 after acquiring an additional 3,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citigroup news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,893,277.80. This represents a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $2,433,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at $18,586,498. This trade represents a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Citigroup Trading Up 0.2 %

C stock opened at $71.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.32. Citigroup Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.51 and a fifty-two week high of $84.74.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. Analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on C. StockNews.com raised shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. 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. Barclays raised Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.53.

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.