Mizuho Securities USA LLC Buys 55,539 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 44.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 179,249 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,539 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $12,617,000 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 C. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 39,919,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,492,238,000 after purchasing an additional 791,758 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 18.5% in the 3rd 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 increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 30,014,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,112,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,826 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 9.8% in the 3rd 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 increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 2.3% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Price Performance

NYSE:C opened at $71.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.20. The stock has a market cap of $135.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.51 and a 52 week high of $84.74.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 purchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.65%.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In other 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,893,277.80. The trade was a 12.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of Citigroup 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at $18,586,498. This trade represents a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on C. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial began coverage on Citigroup in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.53.

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.