Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 406 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,357 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 406 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $15,545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 16 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 18 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 78.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FCNCA shares. Citigroup lowered First Citizens BancShares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,600.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 1st. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,700.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,456.00 to $2,568.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,288.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Citizens BancShares news, CFO Craig L. Nix acquired 17 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1,881.13 per share, with a total value of $31,979.21. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,146,369.33. The trade was a 1.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 13.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of FCNCA stock opened at $1,835.10 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.69, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $2,025.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2,055.55. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,518.00 and a fifty-two week high of $2,412.93.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $45.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.32 by $5.78. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 13.22%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $1.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.12%.

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.