Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 2,804,850 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,832,063 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,804,850 shares during the period. Citigroup makes up about 0.6% of Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.74% of Citigroup worth $2,311,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of C. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Citigroup by 2.0% during the third 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 3.6% during the 4th 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. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at $1,935,599,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 9.8% in the 3rd 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, Swedbank AB increased its position in Citigroup by 90.2% during the fourth 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. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Citigroup

In other news, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 217,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149 in the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of C traded down $7.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $64.36. The company had a trading volume of 23,121,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,853,420. 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 quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $121.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $76.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.01.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. Citigroup's revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. Analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

C has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $83.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Citigroup from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised shares of Citigroup from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered Citigroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.30.

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.