Highland Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Highland Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 197,011 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,895 shares during the quarter. Citigroup makes up 0.8% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $13,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in C. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Citigroup by 340.6% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 36,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,536,000 after purchasing an additional 27,856 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 34.8% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 77,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,852,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 2.4% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 354,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,236,000 after acquiring an additional 8,301 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 168.7% in the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 19,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 12,280 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 1.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,138,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,270,000 after acquiring an additional 20,291 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of C opened at $80.66 on Thursday. Citigroup Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.24 and a 12 month high of $82.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.42. 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 firm has a market cap of $152.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.43.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $19.58 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on C. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research 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, Citigroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.