Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 55,107 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 27.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 145,407 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,107 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $16,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,800,944,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 4,938,923 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth about $298,082,000. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in Citigroup in the first quarter valued at about $252,972,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Citigroup by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,158,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $835,284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,150 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citigroup News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi analysts said the recent pullback in semiconductor stocks looks like a buying opportunity, which may support broader risk appetite and help sentiment around markets that Citigroup covers through its trading and research franchises. Pullback in chip stocks is a buying opportunity, Citi says
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup was highlighted in a new CMBS deal update, after pricing an $817 million multifamily conduit transaction, reinforcing Citi’s role as an active lender and securitization player in U.S. commercial real estate. Citigroup (C) Sets Post GFC Record With $817 Million Multifamily CMBS Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup reportedly closed a bullish South African rand trade after the currency looked “fragile” following South Africa’s surprise rate hold. This is more of a trading update than a major earnings driver, but it shows Citi is actively adjusting macro positions. Citi Drops Rand Bet After South Africa’s Surprise Rate Hold
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, a headline noting Citi’s bearish view on the “Magnificent Seven” may reflect the bank’s broader market outlook, but it does not directly change Citigroup’s fundamentals. Wall Street Bank Just Declared the Magnificent 7 as “Dead” — What Happens Next?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

C has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Citigroup from $134.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on Citigroup from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Evercore set a $143.00 target price on Citigroup in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Citigroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.67.

Citigroup Price Performance

C opened at $131.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $135.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.82. Citigroup Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.94 and a twelve month high of $147.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $225.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.11.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $24.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.74 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. Citigroup’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.2 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is an increase from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.92%.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total value of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Citigroup 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.