Citigroup Inc. $C Position Boosted by BNP Paribas

Key Points

• BNP Paribas increased its Citigroup stake by 204% in the fourth quarter, adding 41,574 shares and bringing its total to 61,957 shares worth about $7.5 million.
• Citigroup has seen broad institutional buying, with major investors like Norges Bank and Vanguard also boosting or initiating positions, while institutions now own 71.72% of the stock.
• Analysts remain mostly bullish on Citigroup after the bank beat quarterly earnings expectations and announced a $30 billion share repurchase program, with consensus rating at “Moderate Buy” and several firms raising price targets.

BNP Paribas grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 204.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,957 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,574 shares during the period. BNP Paribas' holdings in Citigroup were worth $7,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in C. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,800,944,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 163,239,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,048,467,000 after purchasing an additional 4,938,923 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,262,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,797,292,000 after purchasing an additional 2,871,074 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 6,172.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,904,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $294,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,858,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $298,082,000. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Citigroup News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup could win a role in OpenAI’s IPO preparations, a marquee mandate that would support future fee income and showcase the bank’s investment banking reach. OpenAI reportedly in talks to add Citigroup and JPMorgan to its IPO underwriting team
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary says Citigroup has outperformed the Dow over the past year, while analysts remain cautiously optimistic, reinforcing a constructive near-term view on the stock. Is Citigroup Stock Outperforming the Dow?
• Positive Sentiment: Citi turned more bullish on copper, raising its price outlook sharply; that call may be viewed as supportive for Citi’s broader markets and commodities franchise, and for sentiment around the bank’s research influence. Citi turns bullish on copper, sees price hitting $15,000 per ton within a year
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup forecast that the tokenized securities market could reach $5.5 trillion underscores its interest in digital assets and market infrastructure, but the near-term stock impact is unclear. Citigroup Forecasts Tokenized Securities Market Will Hit $5.5 Trillion
• Neutral Sentiment: News that Citi is working with Fannie Mae on a reperforming-loan sale is a routine capital markets-related item and does not appear to materially change the earnings outlook on its own. Is Fannie Mae’s Latest Reperforming Loan Sale With Citigroup Quietly Reshaping FNMA’s Risk Profile?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on C. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Citigroup from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Evercore set a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.62.

Citigroup Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of C stock opened at $128.86 on Tuesday. Citigroup Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.30 and a 12 month high of $135.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The business's 50 day moving average is $123.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.99. The company has a market cap of $219.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. Citigroup had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 9.35%.The company had revenue of $24.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were 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 was Monday, May 4th. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.74%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following the sale, the director owned 12,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,908.20. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $3,285,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Citigroup Company 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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