Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 16,300 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 325,576 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,300 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Citigroup were worth $45,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in C. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the first quarter worth $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Paladin Partners LLC bought a new stake in Citigroup in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. TD Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Citigroup by 197.6% in the 1st quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 244 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Citigroup News

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on C shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Argus set a $150.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Citigroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citigroup presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.22.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of Citigroup stock opened at $131.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $224.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $137.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.29. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $92.84 and a one year high of $147.96.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $24.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.74 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 10.23%.Citigroup's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.2 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This is a positive change from Citigroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Citigroup's payout ratio is currently 28.94%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding C? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source