Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 67,482 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 310 shares during the quarter. Citigroup accounts for about 1.5% of Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $4,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in C. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Citigroup in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Citigroup by 184.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 568 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 69.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on C. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays upgraded Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Citigroup Stock Up 2.2 %

C stock opened at $81.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.95 and a 52 week high of $81.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS 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 business had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Company 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.