Norges Bank Takes $2.80 Billion Position in Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new Citigroup stake of 24.0 million shares, valued at about $2.8 billion, giving it roughly 1.34% ownership of the bank.
• Citigroup reported a strong quarterly beat, with EPS of $3.06 versus $2.63 expected and revenue of $24.63 billion topping forecasts; revenue rose 14.1% year over year.
• The company also authorized a $30 billion share buyback and paid a $0.60 quarterly dividend, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a $137.62 target price.

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 24,003,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,800,944,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.34% of Citigroup as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company's stock.

Citigroup Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE C opened at $125.73 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.69. The stock has a market cap of $214.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14. Citigroup Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.30 and a 12-month high of $135.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.74%.

Key Headlines Impacting 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citigroup news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 182,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. This trade represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on C shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Truist Financial set a $147.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Citigroup from $131.00 to $135.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.62.

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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