Citigroup Inc. $C Shares Sold by Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.

Key Points

• Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. cut its Citigroup stake by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 11,608 shares and leaving it with 55,914 shares valued at about $6.53 million.
• Several large institutional investors increased their Citigroup holdings, and institutions and hedge funds now own 71.72% of the stock, signaling continued broad professional interest.
• Citigroup has several recent catalysts, including a $30 billion share buyback, a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, and stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings that topped analyst estimates.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,914 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,608 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s holdings in Citigroup were worth $6,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 163,239,926 shares of the company's stock worth $19,048,467,000 after purchasing an additional 4,938,923 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 33,040,513 shares of the company's stock worth $3,353,612,000 after purchasing an additional 879,056 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 580,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,125,995 shares of the company's stock worth $2,854,788,000 after purchasing an additional 4,211,099 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Key Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup launched a €15 billion private capital program with BlackRock’s HPS to expand direct lending across EMEA, a move that could strengthen fee-based revenue and deepen its presence in private credit. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Citi reported better April card delinquency and charge-off trends year over year, suggesting some improvement in consumer credit quality. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Citi received final approval to launch a wholly foreign-owned securities firm in mainland China, expanding its ability to offer investment banking and brokerage services directly in a major market. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup hired former UK lawmaker Chuka Umunna as managing director in its UK investment banking division, a small but notable talent win that may support its EMEA franchise. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi’s call that 30-year Treasury yields may next focus on 5.5% reflects its macro view, but it is not a direct operating driver for the bank. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: CFRA reportedly downgraded Citigroup to Hold, which may be tempering enthusiasm after a strong run in the shares. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

C has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $139.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research 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 research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Citigroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment 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's 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citigroup news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of Citigroup 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 completion of the sale, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 182,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,919,511.02. This trade represents 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 Stock Performance

Citigroup stock opened at $119.96 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $120.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.43. The company has a market cap of $204.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.14. 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 $71.65 and a fifty-two week high of $135.29.

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, 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 business had revenue of $24.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.74%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership 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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