Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Trims Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management cut its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 13.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,871 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $1,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of C. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Citigroup by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 805.2% in the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 2.2% during the first quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 53,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the first quarter worth $3,036,000. Finally, Davis R M Inc. purchased a new position in Citigroup in the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citigroup Stock Down 2.0%

Citigroup stock opened at $91.84 on Friday. Citigroup Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.51 and a fifty-two week high of $96.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $84.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.35. Citigroup had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The business had revenue of $21.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Citigroup’s payout ratio is presently 33.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter B. Henry sold 3,000 shares of the company’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 value of $271,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $193,456. This represents a 58.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on C shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Citigroup from $85.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $84.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Citigroup from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Citigroup from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.54.

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.