Arax Advisory Partners Cuts Holdings in Citigroup Inc. $C

Arax Advisory Partners trimmed its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 75.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,776 shares of the company’s stock after selling 139,502 shares during the quarter. Arax Advisory Partners’ holdings in Citigroup were worth $5,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. purchased a new position in Citigroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Citigroup by 92.2% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new stake in Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. High Note Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Citigroup by 107.7% in the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Truist Financial set a $147.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Citigroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.62.

Key Citigroup News

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup launched tokenized Digital Depositary Receipts, creating a new blockchain-based way for clients to gain exposure to private companies and for issuers to tap liquidity, reinforcing Citi’s push into next-generation capital markets. Citigroup Is Rolling Out Tokenized Shares of Private Companies
• Positive Sentiment: Related coverage said Citi is expanding access to private markets with tokenized private-share trading, which could open a new fee-generating business line and strengthen its innovation story with large clients. Citigroup Expands Access to Private Markets With Tokenized Depositary Receipts
• Positive Sentiment: Trump praised Citigroup and CEO Jane Fraser as a top M&A adviser, which helped fuel momentum and reinforced confidence in Citi’s investment banking comeback. Citigroup shares outperform down market after Trump endorsement
• Positive Sentiment: Citi also continued building out its consumer and retail investment banking franchise with a new managing director hire, suggesting management is still investing in growth areas. Citi hires Ryan Beaupré as MD in consumer and retail investment banking push
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi completed the sale of its Polish consumer banking business, continuing its multi-year retreat from underperforming overseas markets. This supports simplification, but it also shows ongoing shrinkage in some international operations. Citi’s overseas retreat advances with sale of Polish business
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that regulators are probing banks’ use of AI could raise compliance scrutiny for the sector, but there was no Citi-specific issue mentioned. Bank Regulators Probe Industry Use of AI

Citigroup Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Citigroup stock opened at $139.68 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $127.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.19. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.11 and a 1 year high of $141.12. The stock has a market cap of $238.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.12.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its earnings results 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 quarter last year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is presently 29.74%.

Citigroup announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citigroup news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of Citigroup stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of Citigroup 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.11% of the stock is currently 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.