World Investment Advisors Increases Stock Position in Citigroup Inc. $C

Key Points

• World Investment Advisors increased its Citigroup stake by 24.3% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 125,531 shares worth about $14.65 million.
• Citigroup reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.06 and revenue of $24.63 billion, both beating analyst expectations and rising 14.1% year over year.
• The bank also authorized a $30 billion share buyback and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, reflecting continued capital returns to shareholders.

World Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - Free Report) by 24.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125,531 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 24,530 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Citigroup were worth $14,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE C opened at $126.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.65 and a 52 week high of $135.29.

Citigroup (NYSE:C - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. Citigroup's dividend payout ratio is 29.74%.

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 182,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 94,435 shares of company stock valued at $11,030,074. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup’s strong quarterly earnings beat and revenue upside continue to support confidence in the bank’s operating momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: The newly authorized $30 billion buyback program reinforces Citi’s capital return strategy and could help support the share price. What's Fueling Citigroup's Robust Capital Return Strategy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup also disclosed routine participation notifications, but these filings do not appear to be major stock catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: Director John Cunningham Dugan’s sale of 2,117 shares may slightly weigh on sentiment, though the transaction size is relatively modest. SEC Director Sale Filing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on C. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citigroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research 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 given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.62.

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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