Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. Makes New Investment in Citigroup Inc. $C

Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 81,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,471,000. Citigroup comprises about 3.0% of Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of C. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Citigroup by 3.1% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,125,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,854,788,000 after buying an additional 4,211,099 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,262,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,797,292,000 after buying an additional 2,871,074 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 6,172.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,904,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,838,000 after buying an additional 2,858,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 291.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,319,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,978,000 after buying an additional 2,008,946 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of Citigroup stock opened at $124.80 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.60. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.65 and a 1 year high of $135.29. The company has a market capitalization of $212.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. Citigroup had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 9.35%.The business had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.74%.

Citigroup declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on C. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Citigroup from $131.00 to $135.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Evercore set a $139.00 price objective on Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Citigroup in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $139.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.62.

Trending Headlines about Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi launched a €15 billion private capital program with BlackRock’s HPS to expand direct lending and capital solutions in EMEA, supporting fee growth and private-credit ambitions. Citigroup Taps €15b Private Capital To Grow EMEA Fee Income
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup said India’s IPO market could hit fresh records in the second half of the year, signaling potential strength in capital-markets activity. Citi Sees India IPOs Hitting Fresh Records Despite Challenges
• Positive Sentiment: Citi also noted improving India macro conditions could help stabilize the rupee and support broader regional business activity. Citi Sees India Tightening Currency Controls to Halt Rupee Slump
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted improving Citigroup card delinquencies and charge-offs in April, which is supportive for credit quality. Citigroup’s Card Delinquencies & Charge-Offs Improve Y/Y in April
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup was also mentioned in articles on dividend appeal and analyst opinions, but those pieces were largely reiterations of the stock’s existing fundamentals rather than new catalysts. Why Citigroup (C) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a bond listing and broader market commentary naming Citi, but these items do not appear to be meaningful stock drivers today.
• Negative Sentiment: Support for Citi’s say-on-pay resolution fell to about 60%, pointing to some shareholder unease over executive compensation. More Citi shareholders vote ‘no’ on say-on-pay
• Negative Sentiment: CFRA reportedly downgraded Citigroup to Hold, which may temper enthusiasm even as longer-term fundamentals remain solid. Bank of America Cut to Hold by CFRA: Is the Big Bank Trade Running Out of Gas?

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other Citigroup 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 transaction of $265,260.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $3,285,250.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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.