LSV Asset Management Sells 277,058 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management reduced its Citigroup stake by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 277,058 shares. After the sale, it still held 5.76 million shares, making Citigroup its second-largest position.
• Citigroup reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.06 beating estimates and revenue of $24.63 billion topping forecasts. Revenue rose 14.1% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 10.65.
• The bank continues to return capital to shareholders through a $30 billion stock buyback authorization and a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share. Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $137.62.

LSV Asset Management cut its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,756,679 shares of the company's stock after selling 277,058 shares during the quarter. Citigroup comprises about 1.5% of LSV Asset Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.32% of Citigroup worth $671,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Citigroup by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 163,239,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,048,467,000 after acquiring an additional 4,938,923 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Citigroup by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,262,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,797,292,000 after acquiring an additional 2,871,074 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Citigroup by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 33,040,513 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,353,612,000 after acquiring an additional 879,056 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Citigroup by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,870,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,336,362,000 after acquiring an additional 580,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Citigroup by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,125,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,854,788,000 after acquiring an additional 4,211,099 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citigroup Price Performance

NYSE:C opened at $125.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $213.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company's 50-day moving average is $121.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.84. Citigroup Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.65 and a 12-month high of $135.29.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The company's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. Research analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on C shares. Evercore set a $139.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Citigroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Truist Financial set a $147.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.62.

Citigroup News Roundup

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total value of $3,285,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. This trade represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,194 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,908.20. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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