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

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 1,867.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 245,989 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 233,489 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $27,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cora Capital Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,336,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. grew 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 valued at $799,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp grew 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 valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Citigroup News

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on C. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Citigroup from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Citigroup from $147.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $135.50 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citigroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In related news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,908.20. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Citigroup Price Performance

Citigroup stock opened at $140.67 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.88. Citigroup Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.61 and a 12 month high of $147.96. The company has a market cap of $239.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

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

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Citigroup

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.