Citigroup Inc. $C Position Reduced by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon cut its Citigroup stake by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 4.57 million shares and ending with 23.55 million shares worth about $2.75 billion.
• Several major analysts remain constructive on Citigroup, with firms like Morgan Stanley, RBC, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo raising or reiterating bullish ratings and price targets. The stock’s consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $137.62 target price.
• Citigroup posted solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and recently announced both a $30 billion share buyback authorization and a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, yielding about 1.8%.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,552,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,573,995 shares during the period. Citigroup accounts for about 0.5% of Bank of New York Mellon Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.32% of Citigroup worth $2,748,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of C. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at $2,800,944,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $19,048,467,000 after buying an additional 4,938,923 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 6.5% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,262,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,797,292,000 after buying an additional 2,871,074 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 6,172.0% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,904,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $294,838,000 after buying an additional 2,858,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at $298,082,000. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Citigroup from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.62.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup is getting a lift from a Zacks note that said the stock outperformed the broader market, reinforcing momentum after recent gains and keeping the market focused on the bank’s relatively strong share-price trend. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment also appears supported by Citigroup’s bullish long-term tokenization outlook, with the bank projecting the tokenized securities market could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030, highlighting a potential growth area for Citi’s markets and digital-asset-related franchises. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Separate commentary from Jim Cramer calling Citigroup “fantastic” may be adding to the bullish tone around the stock, especially as analysts have generally remained constructive on the name. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi strategists warning that crowded positioning in U.S. tech stocks could spark a reversal is a broader market call and does not directly change Citigroup’s fundamentals, but it may influence overall risk appetite. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other Citigroup news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 12,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at $23,919,511.02. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE C opened at $131.32 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $123.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $75.44 and a one year high of $135.29. The company has a market capitalization of $223.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

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

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

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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