SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 716,737 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 54.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,036,286 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 716,737 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $230,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $19,048,467,000 after acquiring an additional 4,938,923 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,262,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,797,292,000 after acquiring an additional 2,871,074 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,252,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,036,712,000 after purchasing an additional 189,548 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,196,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,990,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 33,887,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,954,307,000 after purchasing an additional 846,772 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi’s latest macro view suggests the Federal Reserve may keep rates higher for longer, which could boost net interest income for Citigroup (C) if short-term yields remain elevated. Citi Predicts Fed Rate Cuts Will Come Later Than Expected
• Positive Sentiment: The bank also announced a leadership move in Asia, appointing JianXun Toh to lead corporate banking in Japan, Asia North and Australia, reinforcing its push to grow institutional banking in a key region. Citigroup (C) Appoints JianXun Toh To Lead Corporate Banking In JANA
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains supportive, with Citigroup receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, which can help reinforce investor confidence in the stock. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi also highlighted innovation in asset management with a new report on “operational alpha,” underscoring its broader financial-services research franchise, though the direct stock impact is limited. Citi and CREATE-Research Report: Innovation in Asset Management Pivots to ‘Operational Alpha’
• Negative Sentiment: A Reuters/Fox Business report said the Justice Department is probing transactions tied to a network linked to Iran’s supreme leader, including possible connections to Wall Street firms such as Citigroup, creating headline risk for the bank. DOJ probes JPMorgan, Citigroup transactions tied to Iran supreme leader’s business network

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on C shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore set a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $147.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a report on Friday, May 1st. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.79.

Citigroup Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE C opened at $143.37 on Monday. 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 $77.50 and a 52 week high of $147.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.61.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $24.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The business’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 posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

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

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 12,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company 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.