J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Buys 233,489 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 1,867.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 245,989 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 233,489 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $27,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cora Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Citigroup by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Citigroup by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on C. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $134.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Citigroup from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.00.

Citigroup Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of C opened at $140.67 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.88. The company has a market capitalization of $239.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Citigroup Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.61 and a 1-year high of $147.96.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The business had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. Citigroup’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total transaction of $3,285,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi is expected to collect about $70 million in fees from the SK Hynix listing, underscoring strength in its capital markets and advisory franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple pieces this week describe Citigroup (C) as one of the stronger large-bank names ahead of earnings, supported by resilient trading activity, investment banking momentum, and loan demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and TV mentions have also kept Citi in the spotlight as a favored bank stock, suggesting continued institutional confidence in the name. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Earlier coverage said Citi’s Q1 results were the strongest among diversified banks, reinforcing the view that the company is executing well relative to peers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi also announced that SCB is now live with its 24/7 USD Clearing and Citi Token Services, a constructive step in digital payments infrastructure, but not a near-term earnings driver. Article Title

Citigroup Company Profile

Citigroup Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in New York City with roots tracing back to the City Bank of New York, founded in 1812. The modern Citigroup was created through the 1998 merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group and has since operated as a diversified bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments and institutions worldwide.

Citi’s principal businesses include retail and commercial banking, credit card and consumer lending products, wealth management and private banking, and a full suite of institutional services.