Hilltop Holdings Inc. Sells 9,690 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• Hilltop Holdings cut its Citigroup position by 58.5% in the first quarter, selling 9,690 shares and retaining 6,878 shares valued at approximately $780,000. Institutional investors overall own 71.72% of Citigroup.
• Citigroup reported quarterly EPS of $3.15, exceeding the $2.74 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $24.75 billion, up 14.5% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $145.67.
• Citigroup raised its quarterly dividend from $0.60 to $0.67 per share and authorized a $30 billion share-repurchase program, allowing buybacks of up to 13.7% of outstanding shares.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. trimmed its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 58.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,878 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,690 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Citigroup were worth $780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,800,944,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $298,082,000. SEB Asset Management AB bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the first quarter valued at approximately $252,972,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Citigroup by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,158,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $835,284,000 after buying an additional 1,582,150 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Citigroup from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.67.

Citigroup Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:C opened at $131.95 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.11. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.94 and a 52 week high of $147.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $135.01 and a 200 day moving average of $123.83.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $24.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.74 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a positive change from Citigroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.92%.

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

Key Stories Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi analysts said the recent pullback in semiconductor stocks looks like a buying opportunity, which may support broader risk appetite and help sentiment around markets that Citigroup covers through its trading and research franchises. Pullback in chip stocks is a buying opportunity, Citi says
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup was highlighted in a new CMBS deal update, after pricing an $817 million multifamily conduit transaction, reinforcing Citi’s role as an active lender and securitization player in U.S. commercial real estate. Citigroup (C) Sets Post GFC Record With $817 Million Multifamily CMBS Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup reportedly closed a bullish South African rand trade after the currency looked “fragile” following South Africa’s surprise rate hold. This is more of a trading update than a major earnings driver, but it shows Citi is actively adjusting macro positions. Citi Drops Rand Bet After South Africa’s Surprise Rate Hold
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, a headline noting Citi’s bearish view on the “Magnificent Seven” may reflect the bank’s broader market outlook, but it does not directly change Citigroup’s fundamentals. Wall Street Bank Just Declared the Magnificent 7 as “Dead” — What Happens Next?

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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