Skylands Capital LLC Increases Holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Skylands Capital LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 136,775 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,150 shares during the quarter. Citigroup accounts for 1.3% of Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $9,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the third quarter valued at $4,607,000. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Citigroup by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,378,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,115,000 after purchasing an additional 54,782 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 33,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,909 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 210,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,027,000 after acquiring an additional 39,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 54.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 27,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,731,000 after acquiring an additional 9,777 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Citigroup stock opened at $79.65 on Monday. 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 $150.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.65.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders 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 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on C shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America upped 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. Truist Financial started coverage on Citigroup in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total value of $2,433,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,586,498. This trade represents a 11.57 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.