Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. Takes Position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of C. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 39,919,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,492,238,000 after purchasing an additional 791,758 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Citigroup by 18.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,027,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,998,976,000 after purchasing an additional 4,680,713 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Citigroup by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 30,014,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,112,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,826 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Citigroup by 9.8% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 15,676,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $981,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Citigroup by 2.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,703,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,021,000 after purchasing an additional 240,628 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

C has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Citigroup from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Citigroup from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Citigroup from $110.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.93.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In other news, COO Anand Selvakesari sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.10, for a total transaction of $2,433,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 229,180 shares in the company, valued at $18,586,498. This trade represents a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Mason sold 58,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 217,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,084,112.51. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 103,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,149 in the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of C stock opened at $77.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $145.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50 day moving average is $77.87 and its 200 day moving average is $69.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Citigroup Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.51 and a 52-week high of $84.74.

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

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 37.65%.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 15th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.