20,915 Shares in Citigroup Inc. $C Purchased by Northstar Advisory Group LLC

Northstar Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 20,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,123,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,455,929,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Citigroup by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,334,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,865 shares during the period. Natixis raised its position in Citigroup by 382.7% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis now owns 1,523,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208,089 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Citigroup by 63.3% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 3,085,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,851,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,117,313,000 after buying an additional 1,148,451 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Bulking up banker pay may help retention but raises costs — Citi joined UBS and Morgan Stanley in boosting investment-banker bonuses by ~20%, supporting deal coverage and revenue generation but increasing compensation expense that can compress margins if revenues don’t keep pace. UBS, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley boost bonus for investment bankers by 20%
• Negative Sentiment: Citi warns of a potential market “volatility event” from rising rates — Management/public commentary flagged the risk that rising interest rates could trigger a market volatility event, which would pressure trading revenue, increase mark-to-market losses and potentially force higher risk reserves. For a bank with sizable markets and trading operations, heightened volatility can swing quarterly results and raise capital/risk-management scrutiny. Citigroup is worried about a ‘volatility event’ triggered by rising rates
• Negative Sentiment: Ex-executive sues Citi over handling of sexual-harassment claims — A former wealth-management executive has filed suit alleging Citi mishandled harassment claims. That raises potential legal costs, disclosure/settlement risk and reputational damage that can affect client relationships or recruitment in wealth and private-banking businesses. Monitor filings for potential financial exposure and any management response. Former Citigroup executive sues bank over handling of sexual harassment claims

Citigroup Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Citigroup stock opened at $114.79 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $112.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Citigroup Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.51 and a 52-week high of $124.17. The company has a market cap of $205.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.18.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $19.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.99 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.28%. Citigroup’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on C shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $132.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Citigroup from $115.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.56.

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.