Smithbridge's Strategic Q1 Trades
Smithbridge Asset Management makes strategic Q1 trades in Citigroup, BlackRock, and Canadian National Railway.
Key Points
Lazard Asset Management's Canadian National Railway stake surged to 8,955,711 shares, after purchasing an additional 8,954,310 shares—a 639,137% increase—worth about $844.35 million.
Norges Bank opened a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter, valued at approximately $570.16 million.
FIL Ltd increased its CN Railway position by 49.5% in the fourth quarter, now holding about 15,745,744 shares worth roughly $1.56 billion.
AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its CN Railway stake by 6,329.2% in the fourth quarter to 1,234,030 shares, valued at about $122.05 million.
Citigroup’s board authorized a stock repurchase program on May 7, signaling potential buybacks for the bank.
Smithbridge Asset Management slashed its Canadian National Railway stake by 55% in the first quarter of 2026, selling 30,903 shares to hold just 24,997 shares worth about $2.57 million, according to MarketBeat. At the same time, the Delaware-based firm made bold bets on big-cap financials, boosting its Citigroup position by 613% to 16,057 shares worth $1.82 million and opening a brand-new stake in BlackRock with 2,398 shares valued at $2.31 million.
The moves signal a clear strategic shift — away from traditional rail infrastructure and toward financial giants riding a wave of buybacks and record inflows. Smithbridge's rebalancing comes as broader institutional activity in both CNI and Citigroup hit notable highs in early 2026.
Smithbridge Rotates From Rails to Financial Giants
Smithbridge's exit from Canadian National Railway was not panic selling — it was profit-taking. CNI shares hit 52-week highs near $121, and analyst consensus sits at a "Hold" with a price target of roughly $122, per MarketBeat. With the stock essentially at fair value, trimming made sense. The firm cut its position by more than half while still keeping nearly 25,000 shares on the books.
The proceeds appear to have flowed straight into financials. Citigroup reported decade-high quarterly revenue of $24.63 billion in Q1 2026, per TIKR. BlackRock pulled in $130 billion in net inflows for the same quarter, according to BlackRock. Both stocks gave Smithbridge exposure to capital returns and scale — two things a railway stock near its ceiling could not offer.
Lazard and Norges Bank Pour Billions Into CNI
While Smithbridge was selling CNI, other institutions were buying — aggressively. Lazard Asset Management grew its CNI stake by a staggering 639,137%, adding 8,954,310 shares to hold nearly 9 million total, worth about $844 million, per MarketBeat. That kind of move from a single manager can single-handedly shift a stock's institutional ownership profile.
Norway's sovereign wealth fund, Norges Bank, opened a brand-new CNI position in Q4 2025 valued at roughly $570 million. FIL Ltd grew its stake by 49.5% to 15.7 million shares worth about $1.56 billion. AQR Capital Management lifted its holding by 6,329% to 1.23 million shares. Total institutional ownership in CNI now sits between 80% and 81%, making the stock highly sensitive to big-player sentiment, according to Fintel.
Citigroup's $30 Billion Buyback Attracts Institutional Money
Smithbridge's 613% surge into Citigroup was well-timed. On May 7, 2026, Citigroup announced a new $30 billion share repurchase program — equal to about 13.7% of all outstanding shares — alongside a 12% dividend hike, per MarketBeat. Shares jumped over 2% on the news. CEO Jane Fraser has spent five years simplifying the bank's sprawling structure, and the buyback signaled the cleanup phase is giving way to aggressive capital returns.
Fraser called the bank's "Services" division its "crown jewel," pointing to 17% revenue growth there in Q1, according to TIKR. On June 24, 2026, Citigroup also confirmed it cleared the Federal Reserve's annual stress test with a Stress Capital Buffer of just 3.6%, a sign the bank has plenty of cushion. Bears worry restructuring costs will drag on margins, but bulls point to 14.1% revenue growth as proof the turnaround is real.
BlackRock Insiders Sell While Institutions Keep Buying
Smithbridge's new BlackRock position fits a broader theme. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said after Q1 earnings, "BlackRock is a scale operator across public markets, private markets, and technology... Capital is in motion... and BlackRock is the trusted destination," per BlackRock. The firm's push into private credit and infrastructure has made it a proxy for the shift away from pure public equities toward alternative assets.
There is one wrinkle worth watching. While institutions like Smithbridge are buying in, BlackRock insiders — including the COO and CFO — made 32 sales and zero purchases over the past six months, offloading more than $100 million in shares, according to Quiver Quantitative. That gap between institutional buying and insider selling creates a tension that savvy investors will want to monitor as the year unfolds.
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