Sherman Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in C. Core Alternative Capital boosted its position in Citigroup by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its position in Citigroup by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.93.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total transaction of $1,225,276.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at $8,893,277.80. This trade represents a 12.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,084,112.51. The trade was a 21.20 % 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 worth $8,523,149 over the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:C opened at $79.78 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $77.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.31. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.51 and a 52 week high of $84.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.44. 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 (NYSE:C) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The company had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. Citigroup’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.