NFJ Investment Group LLC Has $22.70 Million Position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 322,501 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,092 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $22,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Core Alternative Capital raised its stake in Citigroup by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of C stock opened at $64.30 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $72.22 and its 200 day moving average is $70.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Citigroup Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.51 and a 12 month high of $84.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In other Citigroup news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 approximately $8,893,277.80. The trade was a 12.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on C. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Citigroup from $85.50 to $75.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays upgraded Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.54.

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.