Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Increases Position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,391 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $1,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 39,919,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,492,238,000 after buying an additional 791,758 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Citigroup by 18.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,027,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,998,976,000 after purchasing an additional 4,680,713 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 3.2% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 28,970,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,813,544,000 after purchasing an additional 911,694 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 9.8% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 15,676,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $981,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 2.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,703,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,021,000 after purchasing an additional 240,628 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citigroup Stock Up 1.1 %

C stock opened at $79.00 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.44. Citigroup Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.51 and a 12 month high of $84.74. 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 (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

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 $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on C shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays raised shares of Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citigroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total transaction of $2,433,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 229,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,586,498. This represents a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total transaction of $1,225,276.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at $8,893,277.80. The trade was a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149 over the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.