Advisors Capital Management LLC Purchases 10,696 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 763,582 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,696 shares during the period. Citigroup makes up approximately 0.8% of Advisors Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Citigroup were worth $53,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth $1,935,599,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,863,718 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 4,680,713 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted 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 purchasing an additional 3,947,912 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $198,231,000. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

C has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Citigroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 30th. Barclays raised shares of Citigroup from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total transaction of $2,433,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,586,498. This represents a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of C traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $64.30. 24,704,991 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,421,973. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $121.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29. Citigroup Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.51 and a 52-week high of $84.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $72.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.02.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $21.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.34 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. On average, equities analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.