AQR Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,334,647 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,352 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Citigroup worth $305,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in Citigroup by 432.9% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 137,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,700,000 after buying an additional 111,943 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Citigroup by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 20,232,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,424,169,000 after buying an additional 2,467,958 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Citigroup by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,454,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,758,000 after buying an additional 350,508 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC grew its position in Citigroup by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 72,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,101,000 after buying an additional 7,138 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citigroup Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE C opened at $68.25 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $128.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $69.07 and a 200-day moving average of $71.17. 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 Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.12. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The firm had revenue of $21.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.34 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 109,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,893,277.80. This represents a 12.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on C. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Citigroup from $84.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $83.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.50 to $75.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.04.

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.