Howard Capital Management Inc. Buys 1,591 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,951 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,591 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $6,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in Citigroup by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Citigroup by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 8,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Citigroup by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,612,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Citigroup by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 6,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Citigroup by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,746,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

C has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays raised Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Citigroup from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.93.

Citigroup Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE C opened at $79.65 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $76.80 and its 200 day moving average is $68.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Citigroup Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.51 and a 12 month high of $84.74. The stock has a market cap of $150.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.44.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS 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 company had revenue of $19.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citigroup news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 217,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,084,112.51. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of Citigroup 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,586,498. The trade was a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149 in the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.