Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in Citigroup Inc. $C

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 876,387 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,364 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $102,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of C. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 163,239,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,048,467,000 after buying an additional 4,938,923 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Citigroup by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,262,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,797,292,000 after acquiring an additional 2,871,074 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Citigroup by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,252,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,036,712,000 after acquiring an additional 189,548 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Citigroup by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,196,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,990,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326,224 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Citigroup by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 33,887,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,954,307,000 after acquiring an additional 846,772 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citigroup Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE C opened at $139.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $238.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.12. 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 twelve month low of $76.11 and a twelve month high of $141.12. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.06.

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. The business had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 9.35%.Citigroup’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup launched tokenized Digital Depositary Receipts, creating a new blockchain-based way for clients to gain exposure to private companies and for issuers to tap liquidity, reinforcing Citi’s push into next-generation capital markets. Citigroup Is Rolling Out Tokenized Shares of Private Companies
• Positive Sentiment: Related coverage said Citi is expanding access to private markets with tokenized private-share trading, which could open a new fee-generating business line and strengthen its innovation story with large clients. Citigroup Expands Access to Private Markets With Tokenized Depositary Receipts
• Positive Sentiment: Trump praised Citigroup and CEO Jane Fraser as a top M&A adviser, which helped fuel momentum and reinforced confidence in Citi’s investment banking comeback. Citigroup shares outperform down market after Trump endorsement
• Positive Sentiment: Citi also continued building out its consumer and retail investment banking franchise with a new managing director hire, suggesting management is still investing in growth areas. Citi hires Ryan Beaupré as MD in consumer and retail investment banking push
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi completed the sale of its Polish consumer banking business, continuing its multi-year retreat from underperforming overseas markets. This supports simplification, but it also shows ongoing shrinkage in some international operations. Citi’s overseas retreat advances with sale of Polish business
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that regulators are probing banks’ use of AI could raise compliance scrutiny for the sector, but there was no Citi-specific issue mentioned. Bank Regulators Probe Industry Use of AI

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on C shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $131.00 to $135.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of Citigroup 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,919,511.02. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate 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.