Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Raises Stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Citigroup Inc. by 463.1% during Q1, owning 554,899 shares worth approximately $39 million.
• Citigroup's quarterly earnings surpassed estimates with $1.96 EPS, beating the consensus of $1.61, and it reported an 8.2% revenue growth year-over-year.
• The company is increasing its quarterly dividend to $0.60 per share, up from $0.56, reflecting a healthy dividend yield of 2.5%.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 463.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 554,899 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 456,364 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Citigroup were worth $39,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Citigroup by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Citigroup by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the company's stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Solitude Financial Services grew its holdings in Citigroup by 0.9% during the first quarter. Solitude Financial Services now owns 16,496 shares of the company's stock worth $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC grew its holdings in Citigroup by 0.5% during the first quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 27,268 shares of the company's stock worth $1,936,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in Citigroup by 14.3% in the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on C shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Citigroup from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Citigroup from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Cowen started coverage on Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 target price on Citigroup in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.54.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Citigroup stock opened at $94.72 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $87.15 and its 200-day moving average is $77.67. The company has a market cap of $174.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Citigroup Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.51 and a 12 month high of $96.90.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $21.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost from Citigroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Citigroup's payout ratio is 35.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citigroup news, Director Peter B. Henry sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $193,456. This trade represents a 58.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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