Candriam S.C.A. Increases Stake in Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in Citigroup Inc. by 8.9% during the first quarter, bringing the total to 218,775 shares valued at approximately $15.53 million.
• Citigroup has seen support from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.54, with several firms raising their price objectives.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.60 per share, reflecting positive confidence in financial performance.

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 218,775 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,915 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Citigroup were worth $15,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 69,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,940,000 after buying an additional 11,978 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 109.0% in the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 1,246,061 shares of the company's stock worth $88,458,000 after buying an additional 649,807 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Citigroup by 166.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 12,499 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the 1st quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its position in Citigroup by 495.1% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 18,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 15,436 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citigroup from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citigroup has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.54.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In related news, Director Peter B. Henry sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.40, for a total value of $271,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:C traded up $2.6140 during trading on Friday, hitting $95.2040. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,110,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,361,365. The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.42 and a 200-day moving average of $78.31. Citigroup Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.51 and a 12 month high of $96.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $175.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.38.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.35. Citigroup had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The firm had revenue of $21.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Citigroup has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Citigroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Citigroup's payout ratio is currently 35.45%.

Citigroup Company 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.