Rathbones Group PLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC cut its stake by 20.9% in Citigroup in Q3, selling 47,067 shares and ending the quarter with 178,283 shares valued at about $18.1 million.
• Meanwhile, several large institutions (Vanguard, Geode, Fisher, Franklin) increased holdings and Norges Bank acquired a new stake worth roughly $2.46 billion, leaving institutional investors with about 71.72% ownership.
• Citigroup recently beat EPS estimates ($1.81 vs. $1.65) but missed revenue, pays a $0.60 quarterly dividend (≈2.3% yield), trades near $106.58, and carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $127.25.

Rathbones Group PLC cut its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 20.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,283 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,067 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Citigroup were worth $18,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of C. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Citigroup by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,851,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,117,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,451 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 1.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 42,957,190 shares of the company's stock worth $3,645,084,000 after buying an additional 411,894 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Citigroup by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 33,040,513 shares of the company's stock worth $3,353,612,000 after buying an additional 879,056 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 2.2% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,290,532 shares of the company's stock worth $2,748,571,000 after buying an additional 679,967 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Citigroup in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,455,929,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi participated in a strategic investment in Adaptive (alongside HSBC), signaling continued corporate focus on capital-markets technology and partnerships that could support fee and tech-led growth. Adaptive announces strategic investment from HSBC and Citi
• Positive Sentiment: Investor write-ups highlight Citigroup as an attractive dividend option, reinforcing income-focused demand for the stock among yield-seeking investors. Citigroup (C) Could Be a Great Choice
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentators and some strategists are flagging banks as buyable after recent sell-offs, which supports sector-level interest in large U.S. banks like Citi if volatility stabilizes. War selloffs are buying opportunities, history shows; Jyotivardhan Jaipuria backs banks, trims IT
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi's institutional units have filed notices exiting substantial-holder status in a few smaller Australian names — routine portfolio/flow activity that can affect localized volumes but is unlikely to move Citi's share price materially. Citigroup Group Ceases to Be Substantial Holder in Bapcor
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup's own market commentary has warned that stock-market volatility is set to continue amid the Middle East shock — a caution that can exacerbate risk-off flows out of banks and financials. Stock market volatility set to continue, warns Citi
• Negative Sentiment: Negative press and legal risk surfaced after a Citi banker filed a sexual-harassment suit criticizing the firm's internal investigation unit; such reputational and legal headlines can pressure sentiment and prompt investor caution. Citi banker suing for sexual harassment slams firm’s investigation unit

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on C shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $150.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a report on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $152.00 target price on Citigroup in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $132.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.25.

Citigroup Stock Down 2.2%

C stock opened at $106.58 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $186.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Citigroup Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.51 and a twelve month high of $125.16. The company's 50 day moving average is $115.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.79.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.16. Citigroup had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The firm had revenue of $19.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.43%.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In other news, insider Cantu Ernesto Torres sold 43,173 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.09, for a total transaction of $4,796,088.57. Following the sale, the insider owned 45,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,091,810.15. The trade was a 48.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

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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