New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Stock Position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,431 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $10,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 4.0% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 417,088 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $816,022,000 after purchasing an additional 15,921 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 121,583 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $225,429,000 after buying an additional 14,060 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $177,604,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at $149,963,000. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in First Citizens BancShares by 0.3% during the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 79,132 shares of the bank’s stock worth $154,819,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FCNCA shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,200.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $2,100.00 to $2,200.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,250.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,165.83.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

FCNCA opened at $1,961.18 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,803.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,893.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,473.62 and a 1 year high of $2,412.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.71.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $44.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $41.51 by $3.11. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 15.99% and a return on equity of 11.09%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.95. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is 4.97%.

Insider Transactions at First Citizens BancShares

In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. purchased 135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1,629.67 per share, for a total transaction of $220,005.45. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,118,176.09. The trade was a 5.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen R. Alemany acquired 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1,000.00 per share, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,000. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 13.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About First Citizens BancShares

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.