Associated Banc Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Associated Banc Corp lessened its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,124 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Citigroup by 2.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 18.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,027,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,998,976,000 after purchasing an additional 4,680,713 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 30,014,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,112,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,826 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 9.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 15,676,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $981,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Citigroup by 2.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,703,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,021,000 after buying an additional 240,628 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citigroup Stock Performance

NYSE C opened at $68.84 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $129.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, 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. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $77.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.00.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other Citigroup news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total value 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. This represents a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total transaction of $4,864,872.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares in the company, 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 valued at $8,523,149 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on C. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Citigroup Company 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.