Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Acquires New Shares in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 20,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,466,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Core Alternative Capital grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. raised its position in Citigroup by 150.0% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 500 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Citigroup Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:C traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $71.39. 8,938,303 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,392,393. 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 is $67.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.30. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.51 and a 52 week high of $84.74.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $21.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.34 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.39%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on C shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $77.00 price target (down previously from $83.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Citigroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (down from $96.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Citigroup from $84.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 4,417 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.26, for a total transaction of $301,504.42. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $890,656.48. The trade was a 25.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $4,864,872.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 217,331 shares in the company, valued at $18,084,112.51. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,007 shares of company stock worth $8,824,653 over the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.