Sapient Capital LLC Lowers Stake in Citigroup Inc. $C

Sapient Capital LLC cut its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 62.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,331 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,925 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in C. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 375,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,873,000 after buying an additional 16,744 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,306,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,496,000 after purchasing an additional 365,041 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Citigroup by 166.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 12,499 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Citigroup by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 96,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,255,000 after purchasing an additional 13,046 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Citigroup by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,819,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,371,000 after purchasing an additional 145,610 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.72% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Price Performance

Shares of C stock opened at $135.78 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $137.02 and its 200 day moving average is $125.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market cap of $231.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.12. Citigroup Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.68 and a twelve month high of $147.96.

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

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

Citigroup Increases Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Healthcare banking expansion: Citi appointed new leadership across biotechnology, medical technology, biopharmaceuticals and acute-care banking. The changes position the firm to benefit from increased healthcare dealmaking and could support future advisory, underwriting and financing revenue. Citi Taps New Healthcare Banking Leadership as Dealmaking Heats Up
• Positive Sentiment: Large financing mandate: Citi co-led a $414 million financing for restaurant-commerce platform inKind. The oversubscribed transaction brings inKind’s total capital raised above $1.2 billion and demonstrates Citi’s ability to win sizable private-company financing business, although the direct earnings impact is likely limited. inKind Secures $414 Million in Financing Led by Citi and Cross River
• Positive Sentiment: European leadership hire: Citigroup hired Jean-Baptiste Charlet from Morgan Stanley to lead its French operation. The move could help Citi strengthen its presence in France and compete for corporate, markets and investment-banking mandates. Citigroup Poaches Charlet From Morgan Stanley to Head French Arm
• Neutral Sentiment: Research activity remains visible: Citi maintained a Buy rating and raised its price target on MongoDB, while separately lowering its target for Micron because of potential slowing memory pricing and rising Chinese competition. These calls may generate research and client activity, but they have little direct effect on Citigroup’s earnings or valuation.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $150.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Evercore set a $143.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.22.

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.