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

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT acquired a new position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,226,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,334,000. Citigroup comprises 2.9% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of C. Core Alternative Capital grew its position in Citigroup by 83.4% during the 4th quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Webster Bank N. A. raised its position in Citigroup by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on C shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Citigroup in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total value of $2,433,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,586,498. This represents a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total value of $4,864,872.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Citigroup Price Performance

Citigroup stock opened at $71.93 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Citigroup Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.51 and a 52-week high of $84.74.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $19.58 billion during 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%. Citigroup’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.