Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Shares Sold by L & S Advisors Inc

Key Points

• L & S Advisors Inc reduced its position in Citigroup Inc. by 29.6% during the first quarter, owning 63,108 shares worth approximately $4.48 million after selling 26,558 shares.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Citigroup, with an average price target of $96.54 and recent ratings from several analysts suggesting positive growth.
• Citigroup declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.60 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 2.6%, set to be paid on August 22nd.

L & S Advisors Inc cut its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 29.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,108 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,558 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc's holdings in Citigroup were worth $4,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in C. Private Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 20.8% in the first quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 69,581 shares of the company's stock worth $4,940,000 after buying an additional 11,978 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,247,095 shares of the company's stock worth $1,143,633,000 after buying an additional 1,970,300 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 109.0% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 166.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company's stock worth $1,407,000 after buying an additional 12,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the first quarter worth approximately $214,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Citigroup Trading Down 2.0%

C traded down $1.86 on Tuesday, reaching $90.22. 4,077,043 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,838,694. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $55.51 and a one year high of $96.90. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.05. The company has a market cap of $168.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 the consensus estimate of $20.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This is an increase from Citigroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Citigroup's payout ratio is currently 33.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

C has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citigroup from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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 on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.40, for a total transaction of $271,200.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Citigroup

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.