Kazazian Asset Management LLC Takes $20.39 Million Position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Kazazian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 289,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,389,000. Citigroup makes up approximately 15.6% of Kazazian Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 340.6% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 36,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,536,000 after purchasing an additional 27,856 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its stake in Citigroup by 34.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 77,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,852,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in Citigroup by 168.7% during the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 19,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 12,280 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Citigroup by 2.4% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 354,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,236,000 after acquiring an additional 8,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Citigroup by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 200,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,139,000 after acquiring an additional 22,657 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.01, for a total transaction of $1,225,276.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 have sold 103,590 shares of company stock worth $8,523,149 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upgraded Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Citigroup from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citigroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of C opened at $70.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Citigroup Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.51 and a twelve month high of $84.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.11. The firm has a market cap of $132.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43.

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

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

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Citigroup Company 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.