Brandes Investment Partners LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• Brandes Investment Partners LP reduced its Citigroup stake by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 259,885 shares and leaving it with 2.36 million shares worth about $275.5 million.
• Other institutional investors were mixed on Citi, with some adding shares while others trimmed positions; overall, 71.72% of Citigroup’s stock is held by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Citigroup’s fundamentals and outlook remain constructive: the bank beat quarterly earnings estimates, approved a $30 billion share buyback, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy on average.

Brandes Investment Partners LP cut its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,361,032 shares of the company's stock after selling 259,885 shares during the quarter. Citigroup makes up approximately 2.1% of Brandes Investment Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned about 0.13% of Citigroup worth $275,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of C. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 166.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company's stock worth $1,407,000 after buying an additional 12,499 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 20.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,805 shares of the company's stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 1,669 shares during the period. United Bank purchased a new stake in Citigroup in the second quarter worth about $972,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 3,016.7% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 935 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Citigroup by 26.9% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 15,287 shares of the company's stock worth $1,301,000 after buying an additional 3,238 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citigroup news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total value of $3,285,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 182,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $1,527,908.20. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup’s equity strategists turned more bullish on the market, raising their year-end S&P 500 target and arguing that strong earnings growth and AI spending are still outweighing macro risks. The Stock Market Just Got Crushed. Why Citi Is Raising Its S&P 500 Target.
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup said it expects 5% to 6% year-over-year net interest income growth in 2026, helped by rising loan demand, stabilizing deposit costs, and restructuring benefits. Citigroup's Path to 5-6% NII Rise in 2026: What's Driving the Upside?
• Positive Sentiment: Citi hired Andrew Conway as global chair of consumer and retail investment banking, a move aimed at expanding the firm’s banking franchise in that sector. Citi hires Andrew Conway as global chair of consumer and retail investment banking
• Positive Sentiment: Citi announced the full redemption of $3.15 billion in notes due 2027, a routine balance-sheet action that can modestly support capital management. Citigroup (C) Announces Full Redemption of $3.15B in Notes Due 2027
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi also warned that traders are building aggressive short positions in U.S. stocks, underscoring elevated market risk even as positioning has improved after last week’s selloff. Citi’s Chew Sees Aggressive Short-Selling Positions in US Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi trimmed its 3-month gold target to $4,000 on softer demand, which is more of a commodity call than a direct stock driver. Citi trims 3-month gold target to $4,000 on softer demand

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE C opened at $134.63 on Wednesday. Citigroup Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.11 and a twelve month high of $135.93. The firm has a market cap of $229.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $125.83 and a 200 day moving average of $117.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citigroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Evercore set a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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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