Sound Shore Management Inc. CT Takes $86.33 Million Position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,226,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $86,334,000. Citigroup accounts for about 2.9% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT owned approximately 0.06% of Citigroup at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in C. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in 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 increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 90.2% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 8,326,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $586,120,000 after buying an additional 3,947,912 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $198,231,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in Citigroup by 70.0% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 4,531,827 shares of the company's stock worth $283,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,865,628 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Citigroup by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,115,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $501,994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731,527 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

C has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Citigroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.53.

Citigroup Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of C stock traded down $1.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,574,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,279,043. The stock has a market cap of $138.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Citigroup Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.51 and a 52-week high of $84.74. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $77.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.53.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. Research analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 3.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total value of $1,225,276.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,893,277.80. This trade represents a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Citigroup Company 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.