Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Cuts Stake in Citigroup Inc. $C

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 589,445 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,331 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $66,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of C. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Citigroup by 107.7% during the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Evercore set a $143.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $139.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.00.

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of Citigroup stock opened at $137.40 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $133.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.55. The company has a market cap of $234.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $85.59 and a one year high of $147.96.

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

Citigroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citigroup

In related news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,908.20. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.41, for a total transaction of $3,285,250.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Citigroup

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.