BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Buys 58,600 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 274,758 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,600 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $32,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in C. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth $2,800,944,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Citigroup by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 163,239,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,048,467,000 after purchasing an additional 4,938,923 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Citigroup by 6.5% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,262,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,797,292,000 after purchasing an additional 2,871,074 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth $298,082,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Citigroup by 291.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,319,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008,946 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In related news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $265,260.10. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,194 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,908.20. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Citigroup Price Performance

C stock opened at $132.62 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $124.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.75. Citigroup Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.11 and a 12-month high of $135.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 0.60 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 1.59.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $24.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is presently 29.74%.

Citigroup News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup reshuffled senior leadership, naming Margo Pilic head of strategy, M&A, and investor relations, a move that could improve execution and simplify decision-making as CEO Jane Fraser continues the bank’s transformation. Citigroup Reshapes Leadership As It Pushes Into Tokenized Deposits
• Positive Sentiment: The bank is joining JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and other large lenders on a blockchain-based tokenized deposit network, signaling that Citi wants to stay competitive in next-generation payments and possibly benefit from lower-friction transaction infrastructure. JPMorgan, Citi and Big Banks Plan New Tokenized Deposit System to Answer Crypto
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also responding to Citi’s growing use of AI in operations, including a document-review system that cuts account-opening review time from about an hour to 15 minutes, which may point to better efficiency and cost savings over time. Citi Used AI to Shrink a 60-Minute Document Review to 15 Minutes
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi also announced redemptions of $3.15 billion of notes due in 2027, a routine balance-sheet management move that does not appear to be a major catalyst on its own. Citigroup Announces $2.75 Billion Redemption…
• Neutral Sentiment: Several headlines about Citi’s stock becoming overextended and the broader market looking “frothy” may temper enthusiasm, but they read more like caution flags than direct negatives for the company’s fundamentals. The stock market is at its frothiest…

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Citigroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.62.

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.