Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 245,379 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,460 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $17,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of C. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 340.6% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 36,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,536,000 after buying an additional 27,856 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its holdings in Citigroup by 34.8% in the 3rd 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 grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 354,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,236,000 after purchasing an additional 8,301 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 168.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Citigroup by 1.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,138,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,270,000 after buying an additional 20,291 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Price Performance

C stock opened at $82.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $74.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.44. Citigroup Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.24 and a 12-month high of $82.77.

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

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial started coverage on Citigroup in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.93.

Citigroup 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.