LSV Asset Management Sells 277,058 Shares of Citigroup Inc. $C

LSV Asset Management lowered its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,756,679 shares of the company’s stock after selling 277,058 shares during the period. Citigroup makes up about 1.5% of LSV Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $671,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Donaldson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup in the 3rd quarter worth $58,994,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 17.3% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 663,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,337,000 after buying an additional 98,082 shares during the last quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth $7,165,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 166.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,407,000 after buying an additional 12,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. increased its stake in shares of Citigroup by 12.7% in the third quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 102,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,379,000 after buying an additional 11,512 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 182,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director directly owned 12,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,908.20. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore set a $139.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.62.

Citigroup Stock Down 0.1%

C stock opened at $125.10 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. Citigroup Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.65 and a 1-year high of $135.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $121.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.84. The firm has a market cap of $213.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released 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. 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 analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 buy up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 29.74%.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup announced a private credit partnership with BlackRock’s HPS Investment Partners, a large €15 billion deal aimed at expanding direct lending across Europe, the U.K., and later the Middle East. The move could help Citi deepen its presence in private credit and generate new fee income. Citigroup (C) Forms Private Credit Partnership With BlackRock
• Positive Sentiment: Citi’s wealth business is also expanding, with management saying a significant share of new global hiring will be focused on Asia, where the private bank is growing faster and producing better productivity. That supports the bank’s restructuring story and long-term profitability goals. Citi to boost Asia wealth business with ‘significant’ hires, global head says
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup shareholder approval of an expanded stock incentive plan suggests investors are backing management’s compensation and retention strategy, which can help support execution on the company’s turnaround plan. Citigroup Shareholders Approve Expanded Stock Incentive Plan
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup also continues to benefit from a broader favorable view from analysts, including comments that Q1 results confirmed improving earnings momentum. Citigroup Upgraded As Q1 Results Confirm Earnings Improvement Direction For Banking Giant
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate commentary noted Citi expects India IPO activity to recover later this year, which is positive for capital markets activity but is more of a medium-term driver than an immediate stock catalyst. Citi sees India IPOs hitting fresh records despite challenges
• Negative Sentiment: One potential overhang is governance pressure: a separate report said more Citi shareholders voted against the bank’s say-on-pay resolution, reflecting concern about executive compensation and Jane Fraser’s pay package. More Citi shareholders vote ‘no’ on say-on-pay

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.