Howard Capital Management Inc. Acquires 1,591 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 90,951 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,591 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $6,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in Citigroup by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Citigroup by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 8,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Citigroup by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,612,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC grew its position in Citigroup by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 6,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Citigroup by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,746,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE C opened at $79.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.44. Citigroup Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.51 and a 1-year high of $84.74. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.56.

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

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Citigroup in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related 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 transaction of $1,225,276.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,893,277.80. This represents a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at $18,586,498. This represents a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.