Citigroup Inc. $C Shares Purchased by Focus Partners Wealth

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth boosted its Citigroup stake by 88.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 678,775 shares valued at about $79.1 million.
• Citigroup reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, posting $3.06 per share on revenue of $24.63 billion, both above analyst estimates and up sharply from a year earlier.
• Wall Street remains constructive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $137.62, while Citigroup also has a new $30 billion buyback program in place.

Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 88.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 678,775 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 317,990 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Citigroup were worth $79,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Citigroup by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 163,239,926 shares of the company's stock worth $19,048,467,000 after acquiring an additional 4,938,923 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,871,074 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 189,548 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Citigroup by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,196,783 shares of the company's stock worth $3,990,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 846,772 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on C shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Citigroup from $131.00 to $135.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research cut Citigroup from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $147.00 price target on Citigroup in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.62.

Citigroup Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:C opened at $139.68 on Monday. 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 fifty-two week low of $76.11 and a fifty-two week high of $141.12. The stock's 50-day moving average is $127.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.19. The stock has a market cap of $238.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.12.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $24.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Citigroup's payout ratio is 29.74%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Citigroup news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $265,260.10. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $3,285,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. This trade represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup launched tokenized Digital Depositary Receipts, creating a new blockchain-based way for clients to gain exposure to private companies and for issuers to tap liquidity, reinforcing Citi’s push into next-generation capital markets. Citigroup Is Rolling Out Tokenized Shares of Private Companies
• Positive Sentiment: Related coverage said Citi is expanding access to private markets with tokenized private-share trading, which could open a new fee-generating business line and strengthen its innovation story with large clients. Citigroup Expands Access to Private Markets With Tokenized Depositary Receipts
• Positive Sentiment: Trump praised Citigroup and CEO Jane Fraser as a top M&A adviser, which helped fuel momentum and reinforced confidence in Citi’s investment banking comeback. Citigroup shares outperform down market after Trump endorsement
• Positive Sentiment: Citi also continued building out its consumer and retail investment banking franchise with a new managing director hire, suggesting management is still investing in growth areas. Citi hires Ryan Beaupré as MD in consumer and retail investment banking push
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi completed the sale of its Polish consumer banking business, continuing its multi-year retreat from underperforming overseas markets. This supports simplification, but it also shows ongoing shrinkage in some international operations. Citi's overseas retreat advances with sale of Polish business
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that regulators are probing banks’ use of AI could raise compliance scrutiny for the sector, but there was no Citi-specific issue mentioned. Bank Regulators Probe Industry Use of AI

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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