Leavell Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 296.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,405 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,772 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Citigroup were worth $1,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,935,599,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Citigroup by 455.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 31,352,582 shares of the company's stock worth $2,206,908,000 after buying an additional 25,705,141 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,362,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,418,754,000 after acquiring an additional 7,863,718 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Citigroup by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,832,063 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,311,048,000 after purchasing an additional 2,804,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 148.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,524,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,507,000 after acquiring an additional 2,704,783 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Citigroup Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of C stock traded up $3.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $90.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 39,030,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,644,493. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $78.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.34. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $53.51 and a one year high of $91.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $21.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.75 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 7.95%. Citigroup's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. This is a boost from Citigroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is 35.39%.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 4,417 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.26, for a total value of $301,504.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $890,656.48. The trade was a 25.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

C has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Citigroup in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Citigroup from $85.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Citigroup from $94.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Cowen began coverage on Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $77.00 target price on Citigroup in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.97.

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.