Insider Selling: Citigroup (NYSE:C) Director Sells $265,260.10 in Stock

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:CGet Free Report) Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 2,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 12,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,908.20. This trade 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.

Citigroup Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of C opened at $124.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Citigroup Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.65 and a 1 year high of $135.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.97. The firm has a market cap of $212.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.14.

Citigroup (NYSE:CGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $24.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. Citigroup had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Citigroup Inc. will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Citigroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

C has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $131.00 to $135.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore set a $139.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Citigroup from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.62.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Citigroup

Institutional Trading of Citigroup

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of C. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Citigroup in the fourth quarter worth $2,800,944,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Citigroup by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 163,239,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,048,467,000 after buying an additional 4,938,923 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Citigroup by 17.6% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,125,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,854,788,000 after buying an additional 4,211,099 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Citigroup by 6.5% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,262,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,797,292,000 after buying an additional 2,871,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Citigroup by 6,172.0% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,904,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,838,000 after buying an additional 2,858,481 shares during the last quarter. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Citigroup

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Citigroup is getting credit for its strong earnings beat, with the bank reporting better-than-expected profit and revenue last quarter, which supports the view that operating momentum remains solid.
  • Positive Sentiment: The company recently unveiled a $30 billion share buyback authorization, signaling management confidence and a larger return of capital to shareholders, which investors typically view favorably.
  • Positive Sentiment: News that Citi plans to increase headcount by about 10% in its Asia-Pacific prime brokerage unit suggests continued expansion in a high-value business line and reinforces the growth narrative. Citigroup to boost Asia prime brokerage staff by 10% this year
  • Positive Sentiment: Reports that Citigroup is weighing a broader Asia expansion and a bigger role in U.S.-China business show management is still focused on long-term international growth opportunities. Citigroup Weighs Asia Expansion And US China Role For Future Growth
  • Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary and follow-up articles are mostly reflecting on Citi’s strong post-earnings run and whether the stock can sustain it, but they do not appear to be new fundamental catalysts. Citigroup (C) Down 5.8% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?
  • Neutral Sentiment: A Citigroup director sold a modest number of shares, which may mildly pressure sentiment, but the transaction was relatively small and does not materially change the investment thesis. SEC Director Sale Filing

About Citigroup

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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