Citigroup Inc. $C Position Increased by Vise Technologies Inc.

Key Points

• Vise Technologies increased its Citigroup stake by 68.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 22,454 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 55,426 shares worth about $6.47 million.
• Citigroup reported strong first-quarter earnings, with EPS of $3.06 beating estimates and revenue of $24.63 billion topping forecasts; quarterly revenue also rose 14.1% year over year.
• The bank’s board authorized a $30 billion share repurchase program and it recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, reflecting continued capital return to shareholders.

Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 68.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,426 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 22,454 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Citigroup were worth $6,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 raised its holdings in Citigroup by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,262,626 shares of the company's stock worth $4,797,292,000 after acquiring an additional 2,871,074 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,252,372 shares of the company's stock worth $5,036,712,000 after acquiring an additional 189,548 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 33,887,285 shares of the company's stock worth $3,954,307,000 after acquiring an additional 846,772 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Citigroup by 1.8% in the 3rd 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 period. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citigroup Stock Performance

NYSE C opened at $132.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.12. The company's fifty day moving average is $124.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.75. Citigroup Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.11 and a 52-week high of $135.83.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The company had revenue of $24.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 EPS for the current year.

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

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Citigroup's payout ratio is 29.74%.

More Citigroup News

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...

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of Citigroup 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 sale, the director directly owned 12,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,908.20. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of Citigroup 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 sale, the insider owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. This trade represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on C. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore set a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.62.

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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