Vestor Capital LLC Takes $24.60 Million Position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Vestor Capital LLC bought a new stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 349,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,596,000. Citigroup makes up approximately 1.9% of Vestor Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Citigroup by 340.6% during 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 during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 34.8% in 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 during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 168.7% in 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 during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 2.4% in 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 during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 12.7% in 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 during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $18,084,112.51. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sara Wechter sold 15,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 directly 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Citigroup Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE C opened at $71.93 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.20. Citigroup Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.51 and a twelve month 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 company 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.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $19.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 15th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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 paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised Citigroup from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Citigroup from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.53.

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.