Trivest Advisors Ltd Makes New $12.32 Million Investment in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Trivest Advisors Ltd purchased a new stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 175,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,318,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Citigroup by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,027,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,998,976,000 after purchasing an additional 4,680,713 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 90.2% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 8,326,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,947,912 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $198,231,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in Citigroup by 70.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 4,531,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,692,000 after buying an additional 1,865,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Citigroup by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,115,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,994,000 after buying an additional 1,731,527 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:C opened at $70.24 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $77.51 and its 200-day moving average is $70.11. Citigroup Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.51 and a twelve month high of $84.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released 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 firm had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.56 dividend. 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 3.19%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

C has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citigroup news, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,586,498. This trade represents a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total value of $1,225,276.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at $8,893,277.80. The trade was a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149. 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.