Hartford Investment Management Co. Cuts Holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 116,782 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,296 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $8,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of C. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 340.6% during the 4th 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. raised its position 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 valued at $4,852,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 2.4% during 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 in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 168.7% during the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 19,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 12,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position 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 valued at $71,270,000 after acquiring an additional 20,291 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Trading Up 0.5 %

Citigroup stock opened at $81.17 on Wednesday. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $52.24 and a one year high of $82.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $75.05 and its 200 day moving average is $67.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

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

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

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

C has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.