Cullen Capital Management LLC Sells 153,832 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• Cullen Capital Management cut its Citigroup stake by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 153,832 shares while still holding 2.3 million shares worth about $268.7 million.
• Citigroup has been drawing attention for new growth initiatives, including tokenized Digital Depositary Receipts that expand access to private markets and could create a new fee-generating business line.
• The bank continues to reward shareholders and buy back stock, with a recent $0.60 quarterly dividend and a newly approved $30 billion share repurchase program.

Cullen Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,302,748 shares of the company's stock after selling 153,832 shares during the period. Citigroup accounts for about 2.9% of Cullen Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Cullen Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Citigroup worth $268,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 646,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,400,000 after acquiring an additional 28,504 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 25,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,028,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 109.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 22,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,610,000 after acquiring an additional 11,662 shares during the period. Finally, Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at $2,345,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Citigroup News Summary

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore set a $139.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Citigroup from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.62.

Citigroup Price Performance

C opened at $139.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $238.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $127.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.06. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.11 and a 1 year high of $141.12.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,194 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 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. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

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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