Perpetual Ltd Sells 16,107 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Perpetual Ltd cut its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 44.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,499 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,107 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Citigroup were worth $1,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the third quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Citigroup during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 184.0% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 568 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 69.3% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 635 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Citigroup Stock Up 2.2 %

Citigroup stock opened at $81.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $71.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.65. Citigroup Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.95 and a 1-year high of $81.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on C. Barclays upgraded Citigroup from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $83.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, January 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.93.

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.

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