Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Grows Position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Citigroup Inc. by 179.5% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 14.5 million shares valued at over $1 billion.
• Citigroup has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.60 per share, reflecting a 7.1% rise from its previous dividend, and will be paid on August 22nd to shareholders of record on August 4th.
• Brokerages have optimistic outlooks for Citigroup, with several raising their target prices and giving the stock a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 179.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,534,297 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,334,038 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.77% of Citigroup worth $1,031,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of C. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Accent Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 106.0% in the first quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Citigroup from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.54.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, Director Peter B. Henry sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $193,456. This trade represents a 58.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Citigroup Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Citigroup stock traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $91.31. The company had a trading volume of 12,938,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,932,436. Citigroup Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.51 and a 52-week 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $85.72 and a 200 day moving average of $77.33.

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

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This is a positive change from Citigroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.