Gryphon Financial Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Gryphon Financial Partners LLC cut its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,352 shares of the company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $132,000. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in Citigroup by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 75,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,281,000 after purchasing an additional 5,460 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation boosted its holdings in Citigroup by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 240,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,907,000 after purchasing an additional 3,676 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 62,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,427,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,638,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of C opened at $77.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $145.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.44. Citigroup Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.51 and a fifty-two week high of $84.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.49.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.12. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on C shares. Barclays upgraded Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.21, for a total transaction of $4,864,872.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 $18,586,498. This trade represents a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.