Vestcor Inc Purchases 37,985 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc. has increased its stake in Citigroup Inc. by 108.3%, owning 73,071 shares worth approximately $5.19 million after purchasing an additional 37,985 shares in the first quarter.
• Citigroup's recent quarterly earnings report showed $1.96 per share in earnings, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.61, with a revenue of $21.67 billion, up 8.2% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.56 to $0.60 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.50%.

Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 108.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,071 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,985 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Citigroup were worth $5,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Citigroup during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in Citigroup by 68.2% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 577 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Citigroup news, Director Peter B. Henry sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.40, for a total transaction of $271,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $193,456. This represents a 58.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on C shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Citigroup from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Citigroup from $84.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Citigroup from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $89.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Citigroup from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citigroup has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.54.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of C stock traded down $1.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $91.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,720,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,836,717. The company has a market cap of $171.53 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $84.36 and a 200-day moving average of $76.98. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.51 and a 52 week high of $96.90.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $21.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.75 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 8.44%. Citigroup's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from Citigroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.09%.

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.