Salzhauer Michael Buys 131,505 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Salzhauer Michael boosted its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 50.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 393,650 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 131,505 shares during the period. Citigroup accounts for 9.4% of Salzhauer Michael’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Salzhauer Michael’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $27,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the third quarter worth approximately $4,607,000. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 2,274 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 73,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,626,000 after acquiring an additional 8,097 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 272.4% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 14,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 10,339 shares during the period. Finally, Silverlake Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Citigroup by 2.6% during the third quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Stock Down 0.7 %

Citigroup stock opened at $81.73 on Monday. Citigroup Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.24 and a fifty-two week high of $82.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.18. The stock has a market cap of $154.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.44.

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

Citigroup declared that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.93.

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.