Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 101,735 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,800 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $7,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of C. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 18.5% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Citigroup by 90.2% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 8,326,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,120,000 after acquiring an additional 3,947,912 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth about $198,231,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 70.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 4,531,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,115,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731,527 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of C opened at $70.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $77.51 and its 200-day moving average is $70.11. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $53.51 and a one year high of $84.74. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. Citigroup’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total transaction of $4,864,872.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 217,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $18,586,498. This represents a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on C shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citigroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.93.

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.