First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $2,248.13 and last traded at $2,238.2150, with a volume of 11227 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $2,218.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $2,300.00 target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $2,300.00 price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,050.00 to $2,100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2,278.31.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $2,089.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2,017.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $26.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.62.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $57.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $56.68. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 16.28%. On average, research analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 187.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is currently 4.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Citizens BancShares

In other First Citizens BancShares news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. bought 528 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1,813.37 per share, for a total transaction of $957,459.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 64,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,237,017. The trade was a 0.83% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders purchased 7,190 shares of company stock valued at $12,573,868 over the last three months. 14.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Citizens BancShares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FCNCA. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 117,518.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 205,833 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $441,755,000 after purchasing an additional 205,658 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 125,947 shares of the bank’s stock worth $237,333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 123,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $264,087,000 after purchasing an additional 29,681 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 122,317 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $262,514,000 after purchasing an additional 12,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 20.7% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 91,876 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $174,048,000 after purchasing an additional 15,788 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

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.