Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Citigroup Inc. $C

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,622,877 shares of the company’s stock after selling 590,817 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Citigroup were worth $306,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp raised its holdings in Citigroup by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Citigroup by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,870,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on C shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Citigroup from $132.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $141.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $132.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a report on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.79.

Citigroup Trading Up 2.0%

Citigroup stock opened at $128.08 on Wednesday. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $69.17 and a one year high of $135.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $117.26 and its 200 day moving average is $112.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14.

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 company had revenue of $24.63 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.66 EPS for the current year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.74%.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management will lay out medium-term profitability targets at an investor day, highlighting expected expense discipline, revenue gains from a multi‑year overhaul, and plans to use AI to expand the wealth business — a clear signal management is targeting faster earnings improvement. Citigroup to announce new profit targets at investor day, CEO says
• Positive Sentiment: Citi has introduced a new rewards structure that pays employees directly for generating banking and wealth referrals — a move likely to improve cross‑sell effectiveness and revenue per client if execution follows through. Citigroup sets new rewards structure for banking and wealth referrals
• Positive Sentiment: Citi rolled out an internal platform to deploy AI agents across banking workflows, which could lift productivity and lower operating costs over time — supporting margin expansion assumptions. Citi Debuts Platform to Bring AI Agents to Banking Work
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi is strengthening its India M&A franchise with a senior hire (Raj Rathi), which supports growth in a key market but is more incremental to near‑term earnings. Citi Hires Raj Rathi From Dream Sports as Head of M&A in India
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent analyst writeups (Zacks, MSN coverage) reiterate a longer‑term growth story for Citi, supporting investor interest but not a near‑term catalyst by themselves. Why Citigroup (C) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Negative Sentiment: There’s potential reputational/compensation noise from a high‑profile executive payout reported in the press; such items can draw short‑term scrutiny and be treated as one‑offs to watch. Indian-origin banker Viswas Raghavan to receive $52 million from Citigroup

Insider Activity at Citigroup

In related news, insider Edward Skyler sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 182,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,919,511.02. This trade represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cantu Ernesto Torres sold 43,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.09, for a total value of $4,796,088.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,835 shares in the company, valued at $5,091,810.15. The trade was a 48.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 92,318 shares of company stock worth $10,764,814 in the last 90 days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.