Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. Raises Stake in Citigroup Inc. $C

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. grew its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 18.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,076 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,586 shares during the quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $14,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $2,800,944,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,244,602,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 163,239,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,048,467,000 after buying an additional 4,938,923 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $298,082,000. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $252,972,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Key Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup launched its Custody+ platform, designed to provide continuous settlement, tokenized-asset capabilities and institutional custody services. Bitcoin custody for institutional clients is expected later this year, potentially creating new fee revenue and strengthening Citi’s position in the growing digital-asset infrastructure market. Citigroup Rolls Out Custody+ Platform With Bitcoin Services and Continuous Settlement
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock’s decline came after a strong recent advance, which may have encouraged short-term investors to lock in gains. Analysts continue to monitor whether Citi can sustain its earnings momentum after its latest quarterly results exceeded expectations. Citigroup Shares Slipped After Six-Session Winning Streak
• Negative Sentiment: July card delinquencies edged higher, renewing concerns about consumer credit quality and potential future losses. Lower charge-offs provided some offset, but investors may remain cautious while economic conditions and borrower performance are uncertain. C’s July Card Delinquencies Tick Up: Will This Impact Asset Quality?
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup and five other banks agreed to an $86.4 million settlement related to alleged manipulation of Mexico’s bond market. Although the cost is modest relative to Citi’s size, the settlement adds to regulatory and litigation overhang. Major US Banks Agree to $86.4M Settlement in Mexican Bond-Rigging Case

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Citigroup from $135.50 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Citigroup from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $150.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.22.

Citigroup Price Performance

C opened at $132.90 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $137.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.15. Citigroup Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.68 and a 12-month high of $147.96. The firm has a market cap of $226.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $24.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.74 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 10.23%.Citigroup’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This is an increase from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Citigroup’s payout ratio is currently 28.94%.

Citigroup declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.