Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Position Trimmed by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,089,244 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,063 shares during the period. Citigroup accounts for 2.1% of Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $287,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 74.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 49,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,591,000 after purchasing an additional 20,918 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 291.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 23,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,626,000 after buying an additional 17,200 shares in the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,312,000. Allianz SE bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,909,000. Finally, Cambridge Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,022,000. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citigroup Price Performance

NYSE:C opened at $70.28 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.72. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.51 and a 52 week high of $84.74. The stock has a market cap of $132.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup declared that its board has approved 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 reacquire up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In other news, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,586,498. This represents a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,893,277.80. This trade represents a 12.11 % decrease in their position. 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on C. Barclays raised Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.50.

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.