Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Acquires 1,127 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,256 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $1,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in C. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Citigroup by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its holdings in Citigroup by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 4,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Citigroup by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Citigroup by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 8,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE C opened at $73.20 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.55. Citigroup Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.51 and a fifty-two week high of $84.74. The company has a market capitalization of $137.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 reacquire up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. 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 note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Citigroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citigroup news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total value of $2,433,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,586,498. The trade was a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.