Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $3.95 Billion Stake in Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• Fisher Asset Management increased its Citigroup stake by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 33.9 million shares valued at about $3.95 billion. Citigroup now makes up roughly 1.3% of Fisher’s portfolio.
• Several analysts turned more bullish on Citigroup, with firms like JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Oppenheimer raising price targets. The stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $137.62.
• Citigroup reported strong quarterly results, beating expectations with $3.06 EPS on $24.63 billion in revenue, and it also authorized a $30 billion share repurchase program while paying a $0.60 quarterly dividend.

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,887,285 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 846,772 shares during the period. Citigroup makes up approximately 1.3% of Fisher Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 1.89% of Citigroup worth $3,954,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. High Note Wealth LLC grew its stake in Citigroup by 107.7% during the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 270 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on C. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $131.00 to $135.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Truist Financial set a $147.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Citigroup currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.62.

Citigroup News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup announced a private credit partnership with BlackRock’s HPS Investment Partners, a large €15 billion deal aimed at expanding direct lending across Europe, the U.K., and later the Middle East. The move could help Citi deepen its presence in private credit and generate new fee income. Citigroup (C) Forms Private Credit Partnership With BlackRock
• Positive Sentiment: Citi’s wealth business is also expanding, with management saying a significant share of new global hiring will be focused on Asia, where the private bank is growing faster and producing better productivity. That supports the bank’s restructuring story and long-term profitability goals. Citi to boost Asia wealth business with 'significant' hires, global head says
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup shareholder approval of an expanded stock incentive plan suggests investors are backing management’s compensation and retention strategy, which can help support execution on the company’s turnaround plan. Citigroup Shareholders Approve Expanded Stock Incentive Plan
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup also continues to benefit from a broader favorable view from analysts, including comments that Q1 results confirmed improving earnings momentum. Citigroup Upgraded As Q1 Results Confirm Earnings Improvement Direction For Banking Giant
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate commentary noted Citi expects India IPO activity to recover later this year, which is positive for capital markets activity but is more of a medium-term driver than an immediate stock catalyst. Citi sees India IPOs hitting fresh records despite challenges
• Negative Sentiment: One potential overhang is governance pressure: a separate report said more Citi shareholders voted against the bank’s say-on-pay resolution, reflecting concern about executive compensation and Jane Fraser’s pay package. More Citi shareholders vote 'no' on say-on-pay

Citigroup Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE C opened at $125.10 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.93. The firm has a market cap of $213.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.65 and a 1 year high of $135.29. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were 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 was Monday, May 4th. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.74%.

Citigroup announced that its board has authorized 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 reacquire up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citigroup news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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