Citigroup Inc. $C Stake Increased by Global Retirement Partners LLC

Key Points

• Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its Citigroup stake by 58.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 23,837 shares to bring its total to 64,485 shares worth about $7.53 million.
• Citigroup posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.06 and revenue of $24.63 billion, both topping Wall Street expectations and up sharply from a year earlier.
• The bank’s board approved a $30 billion share repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, signaling confidence in its valuation and capital returns to shareholders.

Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 58.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,485 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 23,837 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC's holdings in Citigroup were worth $7,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Donaldson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Citigroup during the third quarter valued at $58,994,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Citigroup by 17.3% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 663,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,337,000 after purchasing an additional 98,082 shares during the last quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at $7,165,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Citigroup by 166.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 12,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. increased its stake in Citigroup by 12.7% during the third quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 102,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,379,000 after purchasing an additional 11,512 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE C opened at $125.19 on Friday. Citigroup Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.65 and a twelve month high of $135.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $213.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $120.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.77.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. Citigroup's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.74%.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In other Citigroup news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the company's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on C. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $147.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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 shareholders approved an expanded stock incentive plan at the company’s May 20 annual meeting, which should give management more flexibility to retain and motivate employees through equity compensation. Citigroup Shareholders Approve Expanded Stock Incentive Plan
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentary pieces highlighted Citigroup as undervalued or attractive for income-focused investors, reinforcing the view that the stock still has room to rerate after recent earnings improvement. 5 Most Undervalued US Stocks According to Hedge Funds Why Citigroup (C) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup also remained active in market commentary on India IPOs and currency controls, but these reports are more about its broader banking views than a direct business update for the company. Citi sees India IPOs hitting fresh records despite challenges Citi Sees India IPOs Hitting Fresh Records Despite Challenges
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a report that Trump backed away from requiring banks to collect citizenship information, which slightly reduces regulatory overhang but does not materially change Citigroup’s near-term fundamentals. Trump backs down from idea of banks collecting citizenship information
• Negative Sentiment: On the other hand, Citi faced fresh governance scrutiny after a separate report said more shareholders voted against the bank’s say-on-pay proposal, signaling some dissatisfaction with executive compensation practices. More Citi shareholders vote 'no' on say-on-pay

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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