Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Shares Purchased by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,149,956 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 151,042 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $80,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Citigroup by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,963,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,624,000 after purchasing an additional 747,974 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $44,659,000. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $415,000. Yoffe Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its position in Citigroup by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,305,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,865,000 after acquiring an additional 26,463 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on C shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Citigroup from $85.50 to $75.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.23.

Insider Activity

In other Citigroup news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,893,277.80. This represents a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total transaction of $4,864,872.65. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Stock Performance

NYSE:C opened at $58.00 on Friday. Citigroup Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.51 and a twelve month high of $84.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $75.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.95.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The company had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.