Berkshire doubles Constellation stake, sells Citigroup and other financial stocks
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: May 15 2025
0mins
Source: Reuters
Berkshire Hathaway's Investment Moves: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has more than doubled its stake in Constellation Brands to 12 million shares, valued at $2.2 billion, while exiting its investment in Citigroup and reducing stakes in Bank of America and Capital One.
Cash Reserves and Future Leadership: The company ended March with $347.7 billion in cash, continuing a trend of being a net seller of stocks for the tenth consecutive quarter, while preparing for Greg Abel to succeed Buffett as CEO in January 2026.
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Analyst Views on C
Wall Street analysts forecast C stock price to rise
18 Analyst Rating
15 Buy
3 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 129.930
Low
87.00
Averages
131.00
High
150.00
Current: 129.930
Low
87.00
Averages
131.00
High
150.00
About C
Citigroup Inc. is a global diversified financial services holding company. The Company’s segments include Services, Markets, Banking, Wealth and U.S. Personal Banking (USPB). The Services segment includes Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) and securities services. TTS provides an integrated suite of tailored cash management, trade and working capital solutions to multinational corporations, financial institutions and public sector organizations. The Markets segment provides corporate, institutional and public sector clients around the world with a full range of sales and trading services across equities, foreign exchange, rates, spread products and commodities. The Banking segment includes investment banking, which supports client capital-raising needs to help strengthen and grow their businesses. The Wealth segment includes Private Bank, Wealth at Work and Citigold and provides financial services to a range of client segments. USPB segment includes branded cards and retail services.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Interest Rate Management Strategy: This redemption aligns with Citigroup's liability management strategy aimed at enhancing funding efficiency and capital structure, which is expected to positively impact the company's net interest margin and borrowing costs.
- Market Condition Considerations: Citigroup will continue to evaluate opportunities for redeeming or repurchasing securities based on various factors, including economic value, regulatory changes, and overall market conditions, ensuring financial flexibility and stability.
- Interest Accrual Cessation: Beginning on the redemption date, interest on the relevant notes will cease to accrue, further optimizing the company's financial burden and enhancing capital utilization efficiency.
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- Interest Rate Management Strategy: This redemption aligns with Citigroup's liability management strategy aimed at enhancing funding efficiency and capital structure, which is expected to positively impact the company's net interest margin and borrowing costs.
- Market Condition Considerations: Citigroup will continue to evaluate opportunities for redeeming or repurchasing securities based on various factors, including economic value, regulatory changes, and overall market conditions, ensuring financial flexibility and stability.
- Interest Accrual Cessation: Beginning on the redemption date, interest on the relevant notes will cease to accrue, further optimizing the company's financial burden and enhancing capital utilization efficiency.
See More
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- Crude Oil Prices Decline: WTI crude oil prices fell over 3%, lowering inflation expectations and pushing the 10-year T-note yield down 2 basis points to 4.47%, providing support for both stock and bond markets, indicating a complex market reaction to economic outlooks.
- Jobless Claims Rise: Initial jobless claims in the US increased by 13,000 to 225,000, marking a 3.75-month high, suggesting a weaker labor market, although unit labor costs were unexpectedly revised down to 1.8%, easing concerns over wage pressures.
- Earnings Season Summary: As of Thursday, 83% of the 494 S&P 500 companies reported earnings that beat estimates, with Q1 earnings projected to rise 12% year-over-year, but excluding the tech sector, growth is only about 3%, the lowest in two years, reflecting divergence across industries.
See More
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- Technical Analysis Tool: Comparing the latest share price to the 200-day moving average can provide valuable insights for investors, helping them assess market trends and potential buying opportunities.
- ETF Trading Mechanism: Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) trade similarly to stocks, where investors buy and sell 'units' that can be created or destroyed based on investor demand, impacting the ETF's liquidity and market performance.
- Inflows and Outflows Monitoring: Weekly monitoring of changes in shares outstanding for ETFs helps identify those experiencing significant inflows (new units created) or outflows (old units destroyed), allowing for assessment of their impact on underlying assets and market sentiment.
See More
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- Stress Test Context: The Federal Reserve conducts annual stress tests to assess the capital strength of large banks during economic downturns, with the Dodd-Frank Act establishing minimum capital requirements to ensure banks can withstand financial crises.
- Capital Buffer Changes: Last year, major banks saw significant reductions in their stress capital buffers, with JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America dropping to the minimum of 2.5%, indicating strong bank health and freeing up funds for shareholder returns.
- Increased Shareholder Returns: The reduction in capital buffers allowed banks to boost dividends and engage in share buybacks, with the six largest banks posting stock price returns exceeding 25% in 2025, and Citigroup leading with a remarkable 66% increase.
- Future Outlook: Although this year's stress test is considered tougher, the Fed's decision to freeze capital buffers for 2026 means banks won't need to raise their capital cushions, thus continuing to support shareholder returns; however, poor test results could dampen future dividends and buyback plans.
See More
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- Stress Test Results: Last year, major banks excelled in stress tests, leading to significant reductions in capital buffers, with JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo dropping to the minimum of 2.5%, allowing them to free up more funds for shareholder returns.
- Dividends and Buybacks: All major banks raised their dividends in Q3 2025, except JPMorgan Chase, which did so in Q4, and several banks executed share buybacks following the stress tests, making these actions highly favorable for investors.
- Market Performance: The six largest banks posted stock price returns exceeding 25% in 2025, with Citigroup leading at 66%, indicating a positive impact of stress test results on stock prices, despite this year's tests being considered tougher.
- Future Outlook: While this year's stress tests may pose higher risks for some banks, the Fed's decision to freeze capital buffers for 2026 means banks won't need to increase their capital cushions, allowing them to continue rewarding shareholders through dividends and buybacks.
See More
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- Currency Depreciation Pressure: The Indian rupee has depreciated to record lows against the dollar, prompting the central bank to consider a rate hike during its monetary policy meeting on Friday to address ongoing capital outflows and rising import bills, thereby stabilizing the exchange rate and boosting market confidence.
- Rising Inflation Risks: Although India's inflation rate remains below the RBI's 4% target, economists anticipate increased inflationary pressures due to rising energy costs and climate change impacts, which may compel the central bank to take preemptive rate hike actions to control future price increases.
- Global Rate Trends: A potential rate hike by the RBI would align with the rising global interest rate trend, particularly as regional peers like Indonesia and Sri Lanka have adopted more aggressive rate hikes to tackle similar currency depreciation issues, indicating a coordinated approach to economic policy in the region.
- Climate Change Impact: The impending El Niño phenomenon could lead to reduced rainfall in India, affecting agricultural production and food prices, which would further exacerbate inflationary pressures and prompt the central bank to consider rate hikes in the coming months to mitigate potential food inflation crises.
See More
