First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Shares Sold by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP cut its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,425 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 808 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $44,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 2.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 215 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 0.5% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,199 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 4.9% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 129 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 459 shares of the bank’s stock worth $845,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. 61.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FCNCA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Down 0.5 %

FCNCA stock opened at $2,152.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,363.97 and a 12 month high of $2,275.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,967.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,867.87.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.40 by ($1.53). The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 17.36% and a return on equity of 13.63%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $55.92 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 189.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $1.95 dividend. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.76%.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

First Citizens BancShares Company Profile

First Citizens BancShares, Inc operates as the holding company for First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and professionals. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts.