Gries Financial LLC Grows Stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Gries Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,985 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 125,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,977,000 after purchasing an additional 3,004 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Citigroup by 23.6% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after buying an additional 3,313 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 99.2% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 45,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,893,000 after buying an additional 22,706 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citigroup Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of C stock opened at $81.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.43. 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 50 day moving average is $73.44 and its 200 day moving average is $66.53. Citigroup Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.24 and a 12-month high of $82.77.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

C has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.93.

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.