Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Lowers Position in Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its Citigroup stake by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 11,900 shares and leaving it with 66,677 shares valued at about $7.78 million.
• Citigroup has been active on the capital-return front, announcing a $30 billion share buyback plan that could retire up to 13.7% of its stock, alongside a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share.
• Wall Street sentiment remains generally positive: several firms raised price targets, and Citigroup reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.06 versus estimates of $2.63.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. decreased its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,677 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,900 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Citigroup were worth $7,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in Citigroup by 87.6% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 257 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV acquired a new position in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cantu Ernesto Torres sold 43,173 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.09, for a total value of $4,796,088.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 45,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,091,810.15. The trade was a 48.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,318 shares of company stock valued at $10,764,814. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup unveiled a new $30 billion share buyback plan, a strong signal that management sees the stock as undervalued and has confidence in its capital position. RTT News
• Positive Sentiment: The company set a profitability target of 11% to 13% adjusted return on tangible common equity for 2027-2028, with further improvement expected by 2031, reinforcing the turnaround story. Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on Citigroup to $153 from $140 and kept an outperform rating, showing Wall Street still sees meaningful upside. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Jane Fraser said the global economy remains resilient, but warned that the market may not yet fully understand the second- and third-order effects of the Iran war and ongoing inflation pressures. YouTube/CNBC
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors viewed the new profit targets as too modest, suggesting Citigroup may still trail peers longer than hoped despite the overhaul. Quartz

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on C. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup 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. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $131.00 to $135.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Citigroup from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.62.

Citigroup Stock Performance

NYSE:C opened at $125.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $215.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.14. Citigroup Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.29 and a 1-year high of $135.29.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors 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 is Monday, May 4th. Citigroup's payout ratio is presently 29.74%.

About Citigroup

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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