MUFG Securities EMEA plc Lowers Position in Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc cut its Citigroup stake by 41.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 57,883 shares and leaving it with 80,353 shares worth about $9.38 million.
• Citigroup has recently posted better-than-expected results, reporting EPS of $3.06 on revenue of $24.63 billion, both above analyst estimates, with revenue up 14.1% year over year.
• Management signaled confidence by authorizing a $30 billion share buyback, while analysts remain largely positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $137.62.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc lessened its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 41.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,353 shares of the company's stock after selling 57,883 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in Citigroup were worth $9,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. WASHINGTON TRUST Co purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth $338,000. Forsta AP Fonden raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 406,100 shares of the company's stock worth $47,388,000 after buying an additional 8,100 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth $2,800,944,000. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 11,914 shares of the company's stock worth $1,390,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coyle Financial Counsel LLC raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 53.5% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,365 shares of the company's stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 1,173 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: Citigroup’s latest quarter beat expectations, with EPS of $3.06 versus $2.63 expected and revenue of $24.63 billion topping estimates, reinforcing confidence in the bank’s earnings momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights Citigroup’s growth drivers, including loan demand, private credit expansion, and ongoing transformation efforts that analysts say could support revenue growth through 2026. Top Research Reports for Citigroup, TotalEnergies & AppLovin
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with multiple firms maintaining Buy/Overweight ratings and recent price targets clustering well above the current trading range, suggesting room for further upside.
• Positive Sentiment: News that Citigroup is concentrating more wealth-management hiring in Asia points to a strategic push into a faster-growing, more productive market segment. Citigroup Inc. (C) Anchors Wealth Hiring in Asia
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles also note Citigroup’s stock has been broadly outperforming some financial peers this year, but these pieces are more comparison-focused than catalyst-driven. Is Citigroup (C) Stock Outpacing Its Finance Peers This Year?
• Negative Sentiment: Some institutional holdings data show major investors trimming positions, including BlackRock and T. Rowe Price, which may temper enthusiasm despite the stronger operating trends.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In other news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the firm'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 approximately $1,527,908.20. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total value of $3,285,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

C has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Truist Financial set a $147.00 target price on Citigroup in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays increased their target price on Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued 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 given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.62.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of Citigroup stock opened at $125.73 on Monday. Citigroup Inc. has a 52-week low of $74.30 and a 52-week high of $135.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $122.89 and a 200-day moving average of $115.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $22.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.74%.

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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