First Heartland Consultants Inc. Makes New $320,000 Investment in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Key Points

• First Heartland Consultants Inc. acquired 4,502 shares of Citigroup Inc., valued at approximately $320,000, in the first quarter, reflecting ongoing interest from institutional investors in the stock.
• Citigroup recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.60 per share, payable on August 22nd, which contributes to a 2.50% annualized yield.
• The company's stock was reported at $96.04 per share, with a recent earnings report showing earnings per share of $1.96, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.61.

First Heartland Consultants Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Citigroup in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Citigroup in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Citigroup by 68.2% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 577 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Peter B. Henry sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.40, for a total value of $271,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $193,456. This represents a 58.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 4,417 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $890,656.48. The trade was a 25.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Citigroup Stock Performance

NYSE:C traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $96.04. 13,537,763 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,866,557. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.34. Citigroup Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.51 and a twelve month high of $96.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.36 and a 200 day moving average of $76.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $21.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.75 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This is a positive change from Citigroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Citigroup's payout ratio is 33.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on C. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "buy" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $107.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $93.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.50 to $75.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.46.

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.