Citigroup Inc. $C Shares Sold by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its holdings in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 589,445 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,331 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $66,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,800,944,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 163,239,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,048,467,000 after purchasing an additional 4,938,923 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup during the fourth quarter worth $298,082,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Citigroup by 291.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,319,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008,946 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Citigroup by 52.1% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,304,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816,786 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on C. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore set a $143.00 price objective on Citigroup in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Citigroup from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.00.

Citigroup News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup received bullish analyst attention, including a Bank of America price target increase to $176 and a separate UBS target hike to $150, signaling confidence in the bank’s earnings outlook and upside potential.
• Positive Sentiment: The company was also cited as benefiting from a strong banking backdrop ahead of Q2 earnings, with Wall Street expecting higher revenue and profit growth for financial stocks overall.
• Positive Sentiment: Citi expanded its commodities franchise by joining London Precious Metals Clearing Limited and advising StepStone Group on a landmark $3.3 billion structured solutions vehicle, both of which reinforce its capital-markets and clearing capabilities.
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup heads into its July 14 earnings release with investor expectations elevated after a strong recent share-price run, so near-term moves may reflect positioning ahead of results rather than a fundamental change.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles also noted that Citi is projected to report earnings next week and that financial stocks broadly remain in focus as investors look for confirmation of loan-growth and net-interest-margin trends.

Citigroup Stock Down 2.4%

C stock opened at $137.40 on Thursday. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $85.59 and a one year high of $147.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $133.22 and its 200 day moving average is $122.55. The firm has a market cap of $234.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.11.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.43. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The business had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.85 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 12,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total value of $3,285,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at $23,919,511.02. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.