AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Trims Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 35.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,420 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,339 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $4,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FCNCA. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 8,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,217,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 11.9% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 40,200 shares of the bank’s stock worth $78,650,000 after acquiring an additional 4,264 shares during the period. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 58.1% in the third quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 0.7% in the second quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 28,376 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,517,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 57.7% in the second quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 607 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FCNCA shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $2,500.00 price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,050.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial upgraded First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $2,100.00 to $2,200.00 in a report on Thursday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2,300.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,254.18.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $2,069.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $2,078.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,950.42. The stock has a market cap of $25.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 0.69. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a one year low of $1,473.62 and a one year high of $2,245.33.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The bank reported $51.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $44.24 by $7.03. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 15.21%. On average, analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.07%.

Insider Transactions at First Citizens BancShares

In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1,629.67 per share, with a total value of $220,005.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,118,176.09. This represents a 5.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen R. Alemany bought 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1,000.00 per share, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,000. The trade was a ? increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

About First Citizens BancShares

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.