Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Stock Position Lowered by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 101,735 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,800 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $7,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 39,919,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,492,238,000 after purchasing an additional 791,758 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Citigroup by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,027,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,998,976,000 after buying an additional 4,680,713 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 30,014,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,112,698,000 after buying an additional 1,043,826 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 15,676,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $981,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 2.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,703,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,021,000 after acquiring an additional 240,628 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on C shares. StockNews.com raised Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Citigroup in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.93.

Citigroup Price Performance

NYSE C opened at $70.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.11. Citigroup Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.51 and a twelve month high of $84.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is 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 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In related news, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total value of $2,433,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at $8,893,277.80. This trade represents a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.