Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 839,410 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 45,069 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of First Citizens BancShares worth $1,801,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 2,057.4% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 47,506 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,944,000 after buying an additional 45,304 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 390.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 48,299 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,995,000 after buying an additional 38,446 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 13,512.7% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 38,524 shares of the bank’s stock worth $82,679,000 after buying an additional 38,241 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 824.0% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 29,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,440,000 after buying an additional 26,138 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the third quarter worth about $46,540,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Citizens BancShares news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. bought 92 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1,550.00 per share, for a total transaction of $142,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at $4,403,550. The trade was a 3.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 258 shares of company stock valued at $404,236. 14.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Down 0.6%

FCNCA opened at $1,972.41 on Thursday. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,623.76 and a 12 month high of $2,232.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $23.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1,928.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,964.65.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $44.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $43.31 by $1.55. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 15.62%.The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $37.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 180.73 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCNCA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,050.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group set a $2,325.00 target price on First Citizens BancShares in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler set a $2,050.00 price target on First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2,202.08.

First Citizens BancShares Company Profile

First Citizens BancShares, Inc is the bank holding company for First Citizens Bank, a full‑service commercial bank headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company traces its roots to a community bank founded in 1898 and has grown into a diversified financial services organization that operates through its banking subsidiary to serve retail, commercial and institutional clients.

First Citizens offers a broad suite of banking products and services, including consumer and business deposit accounts, commercial and industrial lending, real estate and mortgage lending, treasury and cash management, and specialized lending solutions.