Invesco Ltd. Buys 1,970,300 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,247,095 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,970,300 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.86% of Citigroup worth $1,143,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,935,599,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,362,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,418,754,000 after acquiring an additional 7,863,718 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Citigroup by 18.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,027,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,998,976,000 after buying an additional 4,680,713 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Citigroup by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 8,326,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,947,912 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at $198,231,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In other Citigroup news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,893,277.80. This trade represents a 12.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on C shares. Barclays raised shares of Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.50 to $75.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Citigroup from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.23.

Citigroup Stock Performance

NYSE C opened at $58.00 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $75.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.11. The company has a market capitalization of $109.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.51 and a 1 year high of $84.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

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

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

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.