Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Position Increased by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,256,282 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 254,264 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.23% of Citigroup worth $299,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Core Alternative Capital increased its holdings in Citigroup by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the third quarter worth $31,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on C shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.50.

Citigroup Trading Up 1.1 %

C opened at $71.08 on Tuesday. 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 twelve month low of $53.51 and a twelve month high of $84.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.91.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total value of $4,864,872.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,084,112.51. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,586,498. This trade represents a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149 over the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Citigroup

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.