MML Investors Services LLC Buys 8,107 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 255,485 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,107 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $17,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MYDA Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. MYDA Advisors LLC now owns 83,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,842,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Citigroup by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 500,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,238,000 after buying an additional 4,375 shares during the period. Natixis bought a new position in Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth about $14,857,000. Norinchukin Bank The raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 86,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,054,000 after acquiring an additional 7,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in Citigroup by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 133,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,411,000 after purchasing an additional 13,262 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE C opened at $62.79 on Tuesday. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.51 and a 52 week high of $84.74. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.05. 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 cap of $118.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.12. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm had revenue of $21.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.34 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

C has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.61.

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.