Franklin Resources Inc. Has $2.31 Billion Holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,832,063 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,804,850 shares during the quarter. Citigroup comprises approximately 0.6% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.74% of Citigroup worth $2,311,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Citigroup by 216.3% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 8,197 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in Citigroup by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 3,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new stake in Citigroup in the third quarter valued at approximately $316,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Citigroup in the third quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Citigroup in the third quarter worth $919,000. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citigroup Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE C opened at $70.28 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $132.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.51 and a 12 month high of $84.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $77.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.81.

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

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 was Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of Citigroup 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,586,498. This trade represents a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the business’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 sale, 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 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 ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on C. Barclays upgraded shares of Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their price objective 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 downgraded Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Citigroup in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.50.

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.