Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Cuts Holdings in Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its Citigroup stake by 2.2% in the first quarter, selling 9,134 shares and ending with 407,067 shares valued at about $46.2 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with multiple analysts raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating and a $145 average target price.
• Citigroup posted strong recent results, beating Q1 earnings and revenue estimates, and its board approved a $30 billion share repurchase plan, signaling confidence in the company’s valuation.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 407,067 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,134 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in Citigroup were worth $46,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Citigroup by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,252,372 shares of the company's stock worth $5,036,712,000 after acquiring an additional 189,548 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Citigroup by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,196,783 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,990,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326,224 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Citigroup by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 33,887,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,954,307,000 after acquiring an additional 846,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,800,944,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on C shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $147.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $135.50 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given 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 target price of $145.00.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In other news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the business'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 transaction, the director directly owned 12,194 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,908.20. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the firm'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 owned 182,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi is expected to collect about $70 million in fees from the SK Hynix listing, underscoring strength in its capital markets and advisory franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple pieces this week describe Citigroup (C) as one of the stronger large-bank names ahead of earnings, supported by resilient trading activity, investment banking momentum, and loan demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and TV mentions have also kept Citi in the spotlight as a favored bank stock, suggesting continued institutional confidence in the name. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Earlier coverage said Citi’s Q1 results were the strongest among diversified banks, reinforcing the view that the company is executing well relative to peers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi also announced that SCB is now live with its 24/7 USD Clearing and Citi Token Services, a constructive step in digital payments infrastructure, but not a near-term earnings driver. Article Title

Citigroup Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Citigroup stock traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $140.67. The company had a trading volume of 10,510,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,496,730. The company's 50-day moving average is $133.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.85. The company has a market cap of $239.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.11. Citigroup Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.61 and a twelve month high of $147.96. 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 results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy 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 shares are undervalued.

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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