LM Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Citigroup Inc. $C

LM Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 787.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,353 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,172 shares during the quarter. LM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $2,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,800,944,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,244,602,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 4,938,923 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 4th quarter valued at $298,082,000. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the 1st quarter valued at $252,972,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Price Performance

NYSE:C opened at $131.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $137.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.29. Citigroup Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.84 and a 1-year high of $147.96. The firm has a market cap of $224.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.12.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.41. Citigroup had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The firm had revenue of $24.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.2 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio is 28.94%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on C. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Citigroup from $158.00 to $154.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer downgraded Citigroup from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Citigroup from $150.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Citigroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.22.

Key Stories Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic IPO role could boost fee revenue and deal visibility. Citigroup is reportedly being added to the group of leading banks guiding Anthropic toward a potential initial public offering. A role on a large, prominent AI-company listing could generate underwriting fees and strengthen Citi’s capital-markets franchise. Anthropic adds Citigroup to top banks guiding its IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup received strong growth-oriented stock-market recognition. A recent ranking identified Citigroup and Goldman Sachs among financial giants receiving “buy” growth grades, reinforcing the view that Citi’s earnings and business outlook compare favorably with peers. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs lead as most financial giants earn buy growth grades
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi remains constructive on broader equity markets. The bank maintained an overweight view on equities and said it would use any weakness before the U.S. midterm elections to add exposure. This may support confidence in Citi’s research and client-facing businesses, although it does not directly change the company’s earnings outlook. S&P 500 may pull back before midterms, but Citi says buy the dip
• Negative Sentiment: Credit-quality concerns remain a risk. Citigroup’s July card delinquencies edged higher, although lower charge-offs provided some offsetting relief. Investors may continue monitoring consumer credit trends for signs of pressure on asset quality and loan-loss provisions. C’s July Card Delinquencies Tick Up

Citigroup Company 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.