Catalina Capital Group LLC Invests $201,000 in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Catalina Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 109 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 1st quarter worth approximately $298,180,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 4.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,064,822 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,740,984,000 after acquiring an additional 47,167 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 3,577.5% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 35,010 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,943,000 after acquiring an additional 34,058 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in First Citizens BancShares by 225.2% during the 2nd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 42,159 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,979,000 after purchasing an additional 29,194 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 770.1% in the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 27,713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,312,000 after purchasing an additional 24,528 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush cut their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of FCNCA stock opened at $2,172.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a one year low of $1,363.97 and a one year high of $2,275.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1,950.19 and its 200 day moving average is $1,851.14.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.40 by ($1.53). First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 17.36% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $55.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 189.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $1.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. This is a boost from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is currently 3.76%.

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.