ABN Amro Investment Solutions Acquires 79,627 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• ABN Amro Investment Solutions sharply increased its Citigroup stake in the fourth quarter, buying 79,627 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 87,286 shares valued at about $10.2 million.
• Citigroup reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, with EPS of $3.06 and revenue of $24.63 billion, while also raising momentum via a $30 billion share buyback authorization and a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and average price target of $137.62, although there was some governance concern after more shareholders voted against the bank’s say-on-pay proposal.

ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 1,039.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,286 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 79,627 shares during the quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions' holdings in Citigroup were worth $10,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 grew 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 period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Citigroup by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 33,040,513 shares of the company's stock worth $3,353,612,000 after purchasing an additional 879,056 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Citigroup by 1.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,870,559 shares of the company's stock worth $3,336,362,000 after purchasing an additional 580,027 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 17.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,211,099 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup shareholders approved an expanded stock incentive plan at the company’s May 20 annual meeting, which should give management more flexibility to retain and motivate employees through equity compensation. Citigroup Shareholders Approve Expanded Stock Incentive Plan
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentary pieces highlighted Citigroup as undervalued or attractive for income-focused investors, reinforcing the view that the stock still has room to rerate after recent earnings improvement. 5 Most Undervalued US Stocks According to Hedge Funds Why Citigroup (C) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup also remained active in market commentary on India IPOs and currency controls, but these reports are more about its broader banking views than a direct business update for the company. Citi sees India IPOs hitting fresh records despite challenges Citi Sees India IPOs Hitting Fresh Records Despite Challenges
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a report that Trump backed away from requiring banks to collect citizenship information, which slightly reduces regulatory overhang but does not materially change Citigroup’s near-term fundamentals. Trump backs down from idea of banks collecting citizenship information
• Negative Sentiment: On the other hand, Citi faced fresh governance scrutiny after a separate report said more shareholders voted against the bank’s say-on-pay proposal, signaling some dissatisfaction with executive compensation practices. More Citi shareholders vote 'no' on say-on-pay

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,527,908.20. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Citigroup Stock Performance

NYSE:C opened at $125.19 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.65 and a 12-month high of $135.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $120.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 9.35%.The firm's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $30.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on C. Zacks Research cut Citigroup from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Citigroup from $131.00 to $135.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citigroup presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.62.

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.

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