Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• Axxcess Wealth Management increased its Citigroup stake by 81.8% in the fourth quarter, while several other major institutions also added to their positions. Institutional investors and hedge funds now own about 71.72% of Citigroup shares.
• Citigroup posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.06 beating estimates and revenue of $24.63 billion topping expectations. Revenue rose 14.1% year over year, and analysts still expect full-year EPS of 10.65.
• The bank approved a $30 billion stock repurchase plan and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.60, equal to an annualized yield of about 1.9%. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $137.62.

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 81.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,881 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 46,728 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Citigroup were worth $12,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 in 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 879,056 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 580,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in 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. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citigroup Trading Down 0.1%

Citigroup stock opened at $125.10 on Friday. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.65 and a 1 year high of $135.29. 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 firm has a market cap of $213.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $121.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.84.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 yield of 1.9%. Citigroup's payout ratio is 29.74%.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on C shares. Evercore set a $139.00 price target on Citigroup in a report 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 report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Citigroup in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citigroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.62.

Citigroup News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup announced a private credit partnership with BlackRock’s HPS Investment Partners, a large €15 billion deal aimed at expanding direct lending across Europe, the U.K., and later the Middle East. The move could help Citi deepen its presence in private credit and generate new fee income. Citigroup (C) Forms Private Credit Partnership With BlackRock
• Positive Sentiment: Citi’s wealth business is also expanding, with management saying a significant share of new global hiring will be focused on Asia, where the private bank is growing faster and producing better productivity. That supports the bank’s restructuring story and long-term profitability goals. Citi to boost Asia wealth business with 'significant' hires, global head says
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup shareholder approval of an expanded stock incentive plan suggests investors are backing management’s compensation and retention strategy, which can help support execution on the company’s turnaround plan. Citigroup Shareholders Approve Expanded Stock Incentive Plan
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup also continues to benefit from a broader favorable view from analysts, including comments that Q1 results confirmed improving earnings momentum. Citigroup Upgraded As Q1 Results Confirm Earnings Improvement Direction For Banking Giant
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate commentary noted Citi expects India IPO activity to recover later this year, which is positive for capital markets activity but is more of a medium-term driver than an immediate stock catalyst. Citi sees India IPOs hitting fresh records despite challenges
• Negative Sentiment: One potential overhang is governance pressure: a separate report said more Citi shareholders voted against the bank’s say-on-pay resolution, reflecting concern about executive compensation and Jane Fraser’s pay package. More Citi shareholders vote 'no' on say-on-pay

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.

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