Marshall Wace LLP Raises Stock Holdings in Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA)

Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA - Free Report) by 350.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,944 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 74,662 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.19% of Citizens worth $385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 46,116 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,901 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Citizens by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 145,316 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 7,035 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Citizens by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 458,886 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,662,000 after buying an additional 10,235 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Citizens by 24.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,379 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 10,267 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in Citizens by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 98,554 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 10,351 shares during the period. 13.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Stock Performance

Shares of Citizens stock traded down $0.22 on Friday, reaching $3.79. 65,042 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 93,509. The firm's 50 day moving average is $4.42 and its 200-day moving average is $4.55. Citizens, Inc. has a one year low of $2.21 and a one year high of $5.95. The firm has a market cap of $189.15 million, a PE ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 0.44.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The insurance provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.03). Citizens had a return on equity of 11.50% and a net margin of 8.87%. The business had revenue of $63.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.66 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Citizens, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Citizens

In related news, CEO Jon Stenberg purchased 106,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $3.89 per share, with a total value of $413,662.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 124,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $483,772.07. This represents a 590.02 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Citizens from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th.

Citizens Company Profile

Citizens, Inc provides life insurance products in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Life Insurance and Home Service Insurance. The Life Insurance segment issues ordinary whole life insurance and endowment policies in the United States dollar-denominated amounts to non-U.S.