Hartline Investment Corp Acquires 8,071 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• Hartline Investment Corp increased its Citigroup stake by 7.7% in the first quarter, buying 8,071 more shares and bringing its total to 113,135 shares worth about $12.8 million.
• Several major Wall Street firms have raised price targets on Citigroup, with the stock carrying a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average target price of $145.
• Citigroup reported strong first-quarter results and authorized a $30 billion share repurchase plan, while analysts expect further earnings growth when the bank reports again next week.

Hartline Investment Corp grew its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 7.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,135 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,071 shares during the period. Citigroup accounts for 1.4% of Hartline Investment Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Hartline Investment Corp's holdings in Citigroup were worth $12,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of C. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Citigroup by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 163,239,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,048,467,000 after purchasing an additional 4,938,923 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 6.5% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,262,626 shares of the company's stock worth $4,797,292,000 after buying an additional 2,871,074 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,252,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,036,712,000 after buying an additional 189,548 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,326,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 2.6% during 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on C. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $135.50 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Evercore set a $143.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other Citigroup news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at $23,919,511.02. This trade represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America and UBS both raised their price targets on Citigroup, and JPMorgan also lifted its target while keeping an overweight view, reinforcing bullish expectations ahead of earnings.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is expecting strong second-quarter results from big banks, with analysts citing better trading and investment-banking revenue and potential earnings upside for Citigroup.
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup expanded its precious-metals franchise by becoming a clearing member of London Precious Metals Clearing Limited, which broadens its gold, silver, platinum, and palladium settlement services.
• Positive Sentiment: Citi was also named depositary bank for Vicore Pharma’s ADR program, adding another piece of issuer-services business that supports fee generation.
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank is set to report quarterly earnings next week, and investors are positioning around whether Citigroup can deliver an earnings beat and confirm the recent positive analyst revisions. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A podcast-style consumer complaint about an elderly widow’s credit-card debt mentioned Citi cards and could add a small reputational overhang, though it is unlikely to move the stock much on its own. Article Title

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of Citigroup stock opened at $140.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $240.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $133.05 and a 200 day moving average of $122.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Citigroup Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.48 and a 12 month high of $147.96.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $24.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 9.35%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors 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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