Northbridge Financial Group LLC Invests $783,000 in Citigroup Inc. $C

Northbridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 6,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $783,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 166.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 12,499 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 20.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $835,000 after acquiring an additional 1,669 shares during the period. United Bank bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the second quarter valued at approximately $972,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 3,016.7% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 26.9% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 15,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 3,238 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup launched a €15 billion private capital program with BlackRock’s HPS to expand direct lending across EMEA, a move that could strengthen fee-based revenue and deepen its presence in private credit. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Citi reported better April card delinquency and charge-off trends year over year, suggesting some improvement in consumer credit quality. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Citi received final approval to launch a wholly foreign-owned securities firm in mainland China, expanding its ability to offer investment banking and brokerage services directly in a major market. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup hired former UK lawmaker Chuka Umunna as managing director in its UK investment banking division, a small but notable talent win that may support its EMEA franchise. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi’s call that 30-year Treasury yields may next focus on 5.5% reflects its macro view, but it is not a direct operating driver for the bank. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: CFRA reportedly downgraded Citigroup to Hold, which may be tempering enthusiasm after a strong run in the shares. Article Title

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,527,908.20. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale 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 company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $23,919,511.02. This trade represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Citigroup Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Citigroup stock opened at $119.96 on Wednesday. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.65 and a 1 year high of $135.29. The firm has a market cap of $204.60 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.14. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.43.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 9.35%.The firm had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Citigroup’s payout ratio is 29.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.62.

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.