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Another investor jumps on the Citi train
Merit Financial Group LLC decided Citigroup deserved a bigger seat at the table, lifting its stake by 15.6% and ending the quarter with 96,453 shares worth about $11.26 million. Not exactly “YOLO” money, but enough to say: yep, someone liked what they saw.
Why the timing matters
This move comes right after Citi put up a pretty solid Q1: earnings of $3.06 a share versus $2.63 expected, plus revenue of $24.63 billion — the best quarterly haul in a decade, according to the filing. When a bank prints a beat like that and then tosses in a $6.3 billion buyback tranche, investors tend to perk up like they just heard free snacks are back in the office.
The plot twist: insiders are still cashing out
The article also flagged insider selling, with Ernesto Torres Cantu selling 43,173 shares at an average price of $111.09. That doesn’t automatically mean doom — executives sell for plenty of reasons — but it does add a little side-eye to the party.
Big picture
For Citi, this is the classic “good earnings, better sentiment” combo. A bigger institutional stake won’t move the stock on its own, but it adds to the growing chorus that Citi’s recent results and capital returns are turning skeptics into shareholders.