Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Purchases New Holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 121,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,563,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Citigroup by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,378,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,115,000 after purchasing an additional 54,782 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 9.7% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 41,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,577,000 after acquiring an additional 3,630 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 18.5% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 12,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Citigroup by 2.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 145,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,118,000 after buying an additional 3,482 shares during the period. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Citigroup during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,522,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on C. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.93.

Citigroup Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:C opened at $69.96 on Tuesday. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.51 and a 1 year high of $84.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.12. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 3.20%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In other news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,893,277.80. This represents a 12.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total value of $2,433,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,586,498. The trade was a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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.

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.