Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Increases Stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,768 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,704 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $1,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Citigroup by 1.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,378,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,115,000 after buying an additional 54,782 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup in the third quarter valued at approximately $183,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 2.4% in the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 9,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. grew its position in Citigroup by 44.8% in the third quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 62,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,889,000 after acquiring an additional 19,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. grew its position in Citigroup by 2.5% in the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 94,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,898,000 after acquiring an additional 2,304 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Citigroup stock opened at $72.97 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $137.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $77.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.59. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.51 and a 12 month high of $84.74.

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

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on C shares. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citigroup news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total value of $1,225,276.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at $8,893,277.80. The trade was a 12.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149 over the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.