Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,317,586 shares of the company’s stock after selling 296,810 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $233,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Citigroup by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 4,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 8,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Stock Down 2.2 %

C stock opened at $70.28 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $132.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $53.51 and a one year high of $84.74. 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 moving average price is $77.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.81.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.12. The company 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 for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

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

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Insider Activity

In other Citigroup news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total value of $4,864,872.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 217,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,084,112.51. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total transaction of $1,225,276.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at $8,893,277.80. This represents a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upgraded Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.50.

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.