Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Grows Position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,295,763 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,736 shares during the quarter. Citigroup accounts for approximately 1.2% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.60% of Citigroup worth $795,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Core Alternative Capital boosted its stake in Citigroup by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup in the third quarter worth $31,000. Webster Bank N. A. grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total value of $2,433,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at $18,586,498. The trade was a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total transaction of $4,864,872.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 217,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

C has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.53.

Citigroup Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE C opened at $73.20 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. 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.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share 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 purchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid 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 3.06%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

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.