Citigroup Inc. $C Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 10.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,202,559 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 115,099 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.07% of Citigroup worth $136,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chase Investment Counsel Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the first quarter valued at $207,000. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab lifted its position in Citigroup by 9.7% during the first quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 221,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,082,000 after buying an additional 19,561 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its stake in Citigroup by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 99,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,310,000 after buying an additional 12,444 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Citigroup by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 453,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,483,000 after buying an additional 9,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new stake in Citigroup in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,178,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of C stock opened at $131.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market cap of $225.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.76. Citigroup Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.94 and a 52 week high of $147.96.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last announced its quarterly 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. Citigroup had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The firm had revenue of $24.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 11.22 EPS for the current year.

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

Citigroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a boost from Citigroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup’s payout ratio is presently 25.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In other 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 sale, the director owned 12,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup priced an $817 million multifamily CMBS deal, its largest post-GFC multifamily-only securitization, underscoring continued strength in Citi’s commercial real estate capital markets franchise and demand for apartment-backed debt. Citigroup (C) Sets Post GFC Record With $817 Million Multifamily CMBS Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages remain constructive on Citigroup after its strong second quarter, with analysts pointing to solid earnings, improving outlooks and rising estimates for the bank. Buy 3 Top-Ranked Big Investment Banks Amid Solid Q2 Earnings & Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its quarterly dividend to $0.67 per share from $0.60, signaling confidence in capital strength and offering a more attractive income profile for shareholders. Dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup was also in the news for hiring five U.S. tech investment banking executives, a move that could support franchise growth over time but is unlikely to move the stock immediately. Citigroup hires five US tech investment banking executives from rivals
• Negative Sentiment: Citi’s downgrade of agilon health to Sell shows the bank is still making cautious calls on certain sectors, but this is more relevant to agilon than to Citigroup’s own earnings outlook. Why agilon health (AGL) Shares Are Falling Today

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on C. Zacks Research raised shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Argus set a $150.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Citigroup from $135.50 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Citigroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.67.

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.