Citigroup Inc. $C Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,196,783 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,326,224 shares during the period. Citigroup comprises about 1.0% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.91% of Citigroup worth $3,990,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of C. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Citigroup in the 4th quarter worth about $2,800,944,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Citigroup by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 163,239,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,048,467,000 after buying an additional 4,938,923 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Citigroup by 6.5% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,262,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,797,292,000 after buying an additional 2,871,074 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth about $298,082,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 291.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,319,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,978,000 after buying an additional 2,008,946 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citigroup News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup reshuffled senior leadership, naming Margo Pilic head of strategy, M&A, and investor relations, a move that could improve execution and simplify decision-making as CEO Jane Fraser continues the bank’s transformation. Citigroup Reshapes Leadership As It Pushes Into Tokenized Deposits
• Positive Sentiment: The bank is joining JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and other large lenders on a blockchain-based tokenized deposit network, signaling that Citi wants to stay competitive in next-generation payments and possibly benefit from lower-friction transaction infrastructure. JPMorgan, Citi and Big Banks Plan New Tokenized Deposit System to Answer Crypto
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also responding to Citi’s growing use of AI in operations, including a document-review system that cuts account-opening review time from about an hour to 15 minutes, which may point to better efficiency and cost savings over time. Citi Used AI to Shrink a 60-Minute Document Review to 15 Minutes
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi also announced redemptions of $3.15 billion of notes due in 2027, a routine balance-sheet management move that does not appear to be a major catalyst on its own. Citigroup Announces $2.75 Billion Redemption…
• Neutral Sentiment: Several headlines about Citi’s stock becoming overextended and the broader market looking “frothy” may temper enthusiasm, but they read more like caution flags than direct negatives for the company’s fundamentals. The stock market is at its frothiest…

Citigroup Price Performance

Citigroup stock opened at $132.62 on Monday. Citigroup Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.11 and a 12-month high of $135.83. The stock has a market cap of $226.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $124.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $22.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. Citigroup’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.74%.

Insider Transactions at Citigroup

In other Citigroup news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at $23,919,511.02. This trade represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $265,260.10. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on C. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays raised their price target 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. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Citigroup from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One equities 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.62.

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.