Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 16,460 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 245,379 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,460 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $17,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 8,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,612,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,746,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 7.1% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Price Performance

C opened at $82.45 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.02. The company has a market capitalization of $155.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.24 and a 1 year high of $82.77.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 buy up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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 shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citigroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.93.

Citigroup 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.