Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Trims Position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Key Points

• Levin Capital Strategies L.P. sold 44,230 shares of Citigroup, reducing its stake by 8.7%, leaving it with 461,342 shares valued at approximately $32.75 million, making up about 3.5% of its investment portfolio.
• Citigroup recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.56 to $0.60 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.40 and a yield of 2.6%.
• Analysts have given Citigroup an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $96.54, reflecting positive growth expectations as the company’s recent earnings report exceeded estimates.

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. decreased its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 461,342 shares of the company's stock after selling 44,230 shares during the quarter. Citigroup makes up 3.5% of Levin Capital Strategies L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.'s holdings in Citigroup were worth $32,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisory Group LLC lifted 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 worth $4,940,000 after purchasing an additional 11,978 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 holdings 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 boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 166.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 12,499 shares during the period. Finally, Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup during the first quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on C. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citigroup from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $89.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citigroup presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.54.

Citigroup Stock Down 1.0%

Citigroup stock traded down $0.92 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $91.31. The stock had a trading volume of 12,938,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,932,436. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $85.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.38. Citigroup Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.51 and a 12-month high of $96.90. 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 announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $21.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.75 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This is an increase from Citigroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Citigroup's payout ratio is currently 35.45%.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In other news, Director Peter B. Henry sold 3,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 2,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $193,456. The trade was a 58.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.