Cashing out Citigroup (NYSE:C)

Taxpayers got their wish today with our Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) holdings as the U.S. Government sold 1.5 billion of its 7.7 billion generating $6.2 billion of proceeds for taxpayers.

The U.S. Treasury got an average of $4.13 per share on its sale, or 27% more than the $3.25 price at which the Treasury converted $25 billion of bailout funds into Citigroup common shares last September.

The sales left the Treasury with 6.2 billion Citigroup shares, reducing the government’s stake in the lender to 21 percent from 27 percent. The government said it authorized Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), which is handling the sales, to sell another 1.5 billion of the remaining shares. The first share-sale plan was authorized April 26.

Citigroup shares closed today up 2% at $3.86 a share.