Citigroup Inc. $C Shares Sold by NFJ Investment Group LLC

NFJ Investment Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 161,377 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,290 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $18,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Verus Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Citigroup by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp grew its holdings in Citigroup by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC grew its holdings in Citigroup by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 3,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Citigroup by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,213,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on C. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Citigroup in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $139.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.62.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE C opened at $139.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $238.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $127.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.06. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.11 and a 1 year high of $141.12.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 9.35%.The company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.74%.

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

More Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup launched tokenized Digital Depositary Receipts, creating a new blockchain-based way for clients to gain exposure to private companies and for issuers to tap liquidity, reinforcing Citi’s push into next-generation capital markets. Citigroup Is Rolling Out Tokenized Shares of Private Companies
• Positive Sentiment: Related coverage said Citi is expanding access to private markets with tokenized private-share trading, which could open a new fee-generating business line and strengthen its innovation story with large clients. Citigroup Expands Access to Private Markets With Tokenized Depositary Receipts
• Positive Sentiment: Trump praised Citigroup and CEO Jane Fraser as a top M&A adviser, which helped fuel momentum and reinforced confidence in Citi’s investment banking comeback. Citigroup shares outperform down market after Trump endorsement
• Positive Sentiment: Citi also continued building out its consumer and retail investment banking franchise with a new managing director hire, suggesting management is still investing in growth areas. Citi hires Ryan Beaupré as MD in consumer and retail investment banking push
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi completed the sale of its Polish consumer banking business, continuing its multi-year retreat from underperforming overseas markets. This supports simplification, but it also shows ongoing shrinkage in some international operations. Citi’s overseas retreat advances with sale of Polish business
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that regulators are probing banks’ use of AI could raise compliance scrutiny for the sector, but there was no Citi-specific issue mentioned. Bank Regulators Probe Industry Use of AI

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup 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.