Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 383,534 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 11.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,728,261 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 383,534 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.20% of Citigroup worth $233,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Citigroup during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in Citigroup by 1,139.7% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 52,738 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 48,484 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of Citigroup stock traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.19. 27,550,268 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,400,690. Citigroup Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $130.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $20.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.86 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 4.70%. Citigroup's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on C shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Citigroup from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $82.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Citigroup from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Citigroup from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $72.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.47.

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.