Blume Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Blume Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,942 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,150 shares during the quarter. Citigroup comprises about 2.2% of Blume Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Blume Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $9,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 39,919,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,492,238,000 after acquiring an additional 791,758 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,027,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,998,976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,680,713 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 30,014,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,112,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,826 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 15,676,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $981,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404,120 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,703,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $670,021,000 after acquiring an additional 240,628 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total value of $1,225,276.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,893,277.80. The trade was a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total value of $4,864,872.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 217,331 shares in the company, valued at $18,084,112.51. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 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 Price Performance

C opened at $67.13 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $77.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.84. 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 company has a market capitalization of $126.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.51 and a 1 year high of $84.74.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. Citigroup’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on C shares. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays upgraded Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given 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.

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.