LM Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• LM Advisors increased its Citigroup stake by 787.3% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 19,353 shares valued at approximately $2.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.72% of Citigroup.
• Citigroup reported quarterly EPS of $3.15, exceeding estimates by $0.41, while revenue rose 14.5% year over year to $24.77 billion. The bank also authorized a $30 billion share repurchase program and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.67 per share.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $145.22, though rising card delinquencies remain a credit-quality risk for investors.

LM Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 787.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,353 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,172 shares during the quarter. LM Advisors LLC's holdings in Citigroup were worth $2,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,938,923 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 0.4% in 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. grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,196,783 shares of the company's stock worth $3,990,422,000 after buying an additional 1,326,224 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised 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 worth $3,954,307,000 after acquiring an additional 846,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Citigroup by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 26,869,012 shares of the company's stock worth $3,047,215,000 after acquiring an additional 728,043 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic IPO role could boost fee revenue and deal visibility. Citigroup is reportedly being added to the group of leading banks guiding Anthropic toward a potential initial public offering. A role on a large, prominent AI-company listing could generate underwriting fees and strengthen Citi’s capital-markets franchise. Anthropic adds Citigroup to top banks guiding its IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup received strong growth-oriented stock-market recognition. A recent ranking identified Citigroup and Goldman Sachs among financial giants receiving “buy” growth grades, reinforcing the view that Citi’s earnings and business outlook compare favorably with peers. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs lead as most financial giants earn buy growth grades
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi remains constructive on broader equity markets. The bank maintained an overweight view on equities and said it would use any weakness before the U.S. midterm elections to add exposure. This may support confidence in Citi’s research and client-facing businesses, although it does not directly change the company’s earnings outlook. S&P 500 may pull back before midterms, but Citi says buy the dip
• Negative Sentiment: Credit-quality concerns remain a risk. Citigroup’s July card delinquencies edged higher, although lower charge-offs provided some offsetting relief. Investors may continue monitoring consumer credit trends for signs of pressure on asset quality and loan-loss provisions. C's July Card Delinquencies Tick Up

Citigroup Stock Up 1.4%

C stock opened at $131.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.12. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $92.84 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 $137.20 and a 200 day moving average of $126.29.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $24.77 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%. Citigroup's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Citigroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on C. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Citigroup from $150.00 to $142.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Citigroup from $158.00 to $154.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.22.

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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