Merit Financial Group LLC Has $1.93 Million Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 294.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,469 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,512 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $1,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 184.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 568 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE:C opened at $80.05 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $50.51 and a one year high of $80.45. The company has a market cap of $151.40 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.43.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 6.19%. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup announced that its board has approved a share 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 repurchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

C has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.