Associated Banc Corp Sells 500 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Associated Banc Corp trimmed its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,124 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 4,680,713 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 90.2% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 8,326,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,947,912 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $198,231,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in Citigroup by 70.0% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 4,531,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Citigroup by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,115,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731,527 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at $8,893,277.80. The trade was a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares in the company, valued at $18,084,112.51. This represents a 21.20 % 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 valued at $8,523,149 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

C has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Citigroup Stock Performance

C opened at $68.84 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Citigroup Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.51 and a 12-month high of $84.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $77.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.73 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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 year.

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

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

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.