Game Creek Capital LP Increases Stock Position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Game Creek Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 68.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,875 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,625 shares during the period. Citigroup makes up about 1.0% of Game Creek Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Game Creek Capital LP’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $2,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in Citigroup by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 47,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,363,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 301.3% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 285,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,545,000 after buying an additional 214,623 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 124,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,753,000 after acquiring an additional 23,303 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 14,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 3,628 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Stock Down 0.3 %

Citigroup stock opened at $71.39 on Friday. Citigroup Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.51 and a 52-week high of $84.74. The firm has a market cap of $134.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $21.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.34 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. Equities analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.39%.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 4,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.26, for a total value of $301,504.42. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,048 shares in the company, valued at $890,656.48. The trade was a 25.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 108,007 shares of company stock valued at $8,824,653. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on C. StockNews.com lowered shares of Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 30th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Citigroup from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.50 to $75.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Citigroup from $85.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.04.

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.