Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Increases Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in Citigroup by 16.5%, acquiring an additional 3,440 shares, bringing its total holdings to 24,269 shares valued at approximately $1.72 million.
• Citigroup reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.96, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue rising 8.2% year-over-year to $21.67 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.56 to $0.60 per share, representing a yield of 2.6% and a dividend payout ratio of 33.09%.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 16.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,269 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,440 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Citigroup were worth $1,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 805.2% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Peter B. Henry sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.40, for a total transaction of $271,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $193,456. The trade was a 58.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Citigroup Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE C traded up $0.20 during trading on Monday, hitting $92.03. The stock had a trading volume of 11,609,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,722,995. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.96. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $53.51 and a one year high of $96.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.99.

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

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. 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. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on C. Dbs Bank upgraded Citigroup from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $93.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Citigroup from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.54.

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.