Swedbank AB Acquires 3,947,912 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 90.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,326,745 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,947,912 shares during the period. Citigroup accounts for about 0.7% of Swedbank AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.44% of Citigroup worth $586,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Field & Main Bank grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 6,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 441,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,056,000 after acquiring an additional 8,200 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,735,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,179,000 after acquiring an additional 75,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at $865,000. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE C traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $81.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,210,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,021,920. Citigroup Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.24 and a 52-week high of $82.77. The firm has a market cap of $153.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $72.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. Analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on C shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays raised Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.