Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 89,601 Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,638,660 shares of the company’s stock after selling 89,601 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $256,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Core Alternative Capital increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 150.0% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 184.0% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

C has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.93.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of C stock opened at $84.62 on Tuesday. 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 50 day moving average price of $75.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.93. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.51 and a 52 week high of $84.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.44.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $19.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.51 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 7.43% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is 37.65%.

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.