Citigroup Inc. $C Shares Acquired by DNB Asset Management AS

Key Points

• DNB Asset Management AS increased its Citigroup stake by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 1,793,006 shares valued at about $209.2 million.
• Other institutions also adjusted positions in Citigroup, and 71.72% of the stock is now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Citigroup reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.06 beating estimates and revenue rising 14.1% year over year, while the board also authorized a $30 billion share repurchase plan and declared a $0.60 quarterly dividend.

DNB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,793,006 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 78,862 shares during the quarter. Citigroup makes up 0.7% of DNB Asset Management AS's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. DNB Asset Management AS owned about 0.10% of Citigroup worth $209,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in C. Donaldson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the third quarter worth about $58,994,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 17.3% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 663,416 shares of the company's stock worth $67,337,000 after acquiring an additional 98,082 shares during the period. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $7,165,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 166.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 102,255 shares of the company's stock worth $10,379,000 after buying an additional 11,512 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the firm'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 value of $3,285,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,919,511.02. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

C has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Citigroup from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays increased their target price on Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.62.

More Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup plans to increase headcount in its Asia-Pacific prime brokerage business by about 10%, signaling confidence in rising hedge fund activity and an opportunity to capture more trading and financing revenue. Article: C to Expand Asia Prime Brokerage Team by 10%, Eyes Hedge Fund Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Separate reports suggest Citigroup is continuing to push its Asia expansion strategy, including potential licensing progress in China and a broader push to strengthen its regional investment-banking and markets presence. Article: Citigroup to Get License for Wholly Owned China Securities Firm as CEO Joins Trump Visit
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup has also been highlighted in analysis for adopting AI in ways that may generate returns, reinforcing the view that the bank’s technology investments could help support efficiency and profitability. Article: Citigroup: Not Only Adopting AI But Also Generating Returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Bloomberg reported that Citi said African borrowers are becoming more creative in debt sales, which is informative on market conditions but does not clearly change the near-term earnings picture. Article: Citi Says African Borrowers Are Turning Creative on Debt Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors remain focused on whether Citigroup can sustain its post-earnings momentum, with recent commentary noting the stock has already pulled back from the strong rally seen after its latest quarterly results. Article: After a 63.3% Surge in a Year, Is C Stock Worth Holding on to Now?

Citigroup Stock Performance

NYSE C opened at $123.39 on Friday. Citigroup Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.65 and a 1-year high of $135.29. The company has a market capitalization of $210.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $119.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.04. 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 (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. Citigroup's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.74%.

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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