Apriem Advisors Buys New Shares in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Apriem Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Citigroup by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 8,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Citigroup by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. NTV Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Citigroup by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 6,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Citigroup by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,746,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citigroup Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE C opened at $78.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Citigroup Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.51 and a 52-week high of $84.74.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued 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. 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 business’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on C. Barclays raised Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three research 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total transaction of $4,864,872.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares in the company, valued at $18,084,112.51. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149. Company 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.