Legal & General Group Plc Has $1.61 Billion Stock Position in Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc remained a major Citigroup holder, trimming its stake by just 0.2% in the fourth quarter while still owning 13.82 million shares valued at about $1.61 billion.
• Citigroup reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.06 beating estimates and revenue of $24.63 billion topping forecasts. Management also authorized a $30 billion share buyback and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating. Analysts currently see an average target price of $137.62, above the recent share price around $125.

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,820,676 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,338 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.77% of Citigroup worth $1,612,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Citigroup by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,845 shares of the company's stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp raised its holdings in Citigroup by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 595 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 3,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,213,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Citigroup by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 703 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total transaction of $3,285,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at $23,919,511.02. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the business's 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 transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Citigroup Trading Up 0.0%

Citigroup stock opened at $125.10 on Monday. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.65 and a 52 week high of $135.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $121.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.93.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. Citigroup had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 9.35%.The firm had revenue of $24.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Citigroup's payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on C shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Citigroup from $131.00 to $135.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Citigroup from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Citigroup in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.62.

More Citigroup News

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

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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