Xponance LLC Boosts Holdings in Citigroup Inc. $C

Xponance LLC boosted its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 315,972 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,654 shares during the period. Xponance LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $36,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of C. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,800,944,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 3.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 6.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth $298,082,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 291.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,319,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,978,000 after buying an additional 2,008,946 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

C has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citigroup in a report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Truist Financial set a $147.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Citigroup from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Citigroup from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.62.

Citigroup Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of Citigroup stock opened at $137.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $126.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.91. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.11 and a 1 year high of $138.23. The stock has a market cap of $235.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.12.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.74%.

Citigroup announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup launched a blockchain platform for tokenized private-company shares, becoming the first major bank to issue and custody digital depositary receipts. Investors may view this as a sign that Citi is leaning into a new growth area in private markets and digital assets. Citigroup Is Rolling Out Tokenized Shares of Private Companies
• Positive Sentiment: Citi also expanded the initiative through tokenized depositary receipts aimed at broadening access to private markets, which could support fee generation and reinforce the bank’s innovation narrative. Citigroup Expands Access to Private Markets With Tokenized Depositary Receipts
• Positive Sentiment: Separately, commentary highlighted Citigroup’s turnaround progress, stronger trading results, and a solid investment-banking outlook, reinforcing the view that earnings momentum is improving. C Highlights Turnaround Progress, Solid Q2 Trading & IB Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup hired Ryan Beaupré as a managing director in consumer and retail investment banking, a modest but constructive staffing move that supports its dealmaking push. Citi hires Ryan Beaupré as MD in consumer and retail investment banking push
• Neutral Sentiment: Trump’s public praise for Citi’s M&A ranking has added attention to the stock, but the boost may be limited because the ranking itself has been disputed and does not fully reflect Citi’s actual position. Citigroup shares outperform down market after Trump endorsement

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In related 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 transaction of $3,285,250.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 182,022 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $265,260.10. Following the sale, the director owned 12,194 shares in the company, 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.

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.