Cerity Partners LLC Grows Position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 883,960 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 23,053 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Citigroup were worth $58,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in C. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,935,599,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Citigroup by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,362,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,418,754,000 after buying an additional 7,863,718 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,027,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,998,976,000 after buying an additional 4,680,713 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 8,326,745 shares of the company's stock worth $586,120,000 after buying an additional 3,947,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth $198,231,000. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

C has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Citigroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 30th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays upgraded Citigroup from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.54.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other Citigroup news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total transaction of $4,864,872.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 217,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,084,112.51. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 229,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE C traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $61.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,801,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,389,305. 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 52 week low of $53.51 and a 52 week high of $84.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $73.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.81 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.