Stratos Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Stratos Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 35.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,396 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,819 shares during the quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $6,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 184.0% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citigroup Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE C opened at $78.52 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $74.02 and a 200-day moving average of $66.83. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.24 and a 12 month high of $82.77. The company has a market cap of $148.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.44.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS 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 business had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on C. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.93.

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.