Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Lowers Position in Citigroup Inc. $C

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 66,677 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,900 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $7,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of C. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Citigroup by 3.1% during the fourth 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 period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Citigroup by 17.6% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,125,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,854,788,000 after buying an additional 4,211,099 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Citigroup by 6.5% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,262,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,797,292,000 after buying an additional 2,871,074 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Citigroup by 6,172.0% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,904,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,838,000 after buying an additional 2,858,481 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Citigroup by 291.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,319,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,978,000 after buying an additional 2,008,946 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

C has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.62.

Trending Headlines about Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup unveiled a new $30 billion share buyback plan, a strong signal that management sees the stock as undervalued and has confidence in its capital position. RTT News
• Positive Sentiment: The company set a profitability target of 11% to 13% adjusted return on tangible common equity for 2027-2028, with further improvement expected by 2031, reinforcing the turnaround story. Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on Citigroup to $153 from $140 and kept an outperform rating, showing Wall Street still sees meaningful upside. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Jane Fraser said the global economy remains resilient, but warned that the market may not yet fully understand the second- and third-order effects of the Iran war and ongoing inflation pressures. YouTube/CNBC
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors viewed the new profit targets as too modest, suggesting Citigroup may still trail peers longer than hoped despite the overhaul. Quartz

Citigroup Trading Down 2.8%

NYSE C opened at $125.52 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.01. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.29 and a 52 week high of $135.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market cap of $215.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.14.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. Citigroup’s payout ratio is presently 29.74%.

Citigroup announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cantu Ernesto Torres sold 43,173 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.09, for a total transaction of $4,796,088.57. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,091,810.15. The trade was a 48.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 92,318 shares of company stock worth $10,764,814. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.