Sowell Financial Services LLC Sells 3,988 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Sowell Financial Services LLC trimmed its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,307 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,988 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $1,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 791,758 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 18.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,027,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,998,976,000 after buying an additional 4,680,713 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew 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 worth $2,112,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,826 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 9.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 15,676,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $981,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,703,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,021,000 after acquiring an additional 240,628 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citigroup Stock Performance

NYSE C opened at $67.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. Citigroup Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.51 and a 1-year high of $84.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced 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 firm 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 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. On average, research analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

C has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Citigroup in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total transaction of $1,225,276.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at $8,893,277.80. This trade represents a 12.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.