California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,317,586 shares of the company’s stock after selling 296,810 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.18% of Citigroup worth $233,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Citigroup Price Performance

C opened at $70.28 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50-day moving average is $77.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.81. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.51 and a 1 year high of $84.74.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,893,277.80. This trade represents a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total transaction of $2,433,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,586,498. This represents a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on C. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays raised shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Citigroup in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.50.

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.